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After the tough régimes of
Victorian prisons, (See Gallery Crime
1750-1900), the pendulum
swung the other way for most of the 20th century, towards
reform. This move actually began in 1895, when the Gladstone
Report said that prisons should turn their inmates out better
people than they went in. These views were implemented by
two successive reformers, Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise and Sir
Alexander Paterson.
Some reforms were designed to make
prisons less brutal places, to give prisoners some self-respect.
These included allowing ordinary haircuts and clothing (as
opposed to shaven heads and the broad-arrow uniform). More
visits from the prisoner's family were allowed, and under
less restrictive circumstances. Flogging was finally abolished
in 1948.
The aim of many of these reforms was to prepare the prisoner
to lead a law-abiding life on release. One of the most important
ways of achieving this was to provide more opportunities to
work, and to make that work more realistic. Proper workshops
were built. Tasks requiring (and developing) no particular
skill, such as sewing mailbags, were phased out. Prisoners
were allowed to earn some money to tide them over when they
were released. New prisons were built where these ideas could
be put into effect more easily than in Victorian prisons designed
to be run very differently.
The rise in crime from the 1960s
(See Gallery Crime
in the 20th Century) led
to a swing back to more punitive prison régimes in
the latter part of the 20th century. More offenders and longer
sentences led to an increase in the prison population. This
brought tremendous over-crowding, a worsening of conditions
and less opportunity for education, workshop time and family
visits. This situation contributed to serious prison riots
in the 1970s and at Strangeways Prison, Manchester in 1990.
There was also a return to privately-run prisons, a system
phased out in the early 19th century.
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