The Prisoner needs help and care to move back into society and without that the risks of re-offending are high.

There are risks about a regime which is about incentives and rewards-it can be abused.

Will alternatives to Prison be seen as a soft option and ineffective?

There are risks about letting other staff into prisons-security.

A few bad news stories can do great damage.

The prisoner is a resource and the idea of restitution is that it continues after release. The prison sentence is in many ways negative even if preparatory and educative. After discharge the prisoner can be helped and encouraged to work with and help others less fortunate, to give of time and energy and in so doing discover their own dignity and resources as human beings.

The Public Health of Prisons requires thoughtful experiments, properly conducted over time-small gains are very worthwhile.

The prison service we have now has developed over several thousand years. It has changed little-it is better organised, more open, a little less punitive, less sadistic and more expensive. It has on the whole failed to improve The Public Health and probably worsened it.

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