According to the report of the Government’s spending watchdog, such shortcomings are among “the consequences of government failure to build enough prisons”, a view with which I disagree.

It is not a “failure to build enough prisons”, but an overuse of prison that has led to overcrowding. In England and Wales, we send more people to jail than any other country in Western Europe, although overall crime is down by 44 per cent since 1995. Why is the prison population not being reduced?

Prison does not work. It is also expensive, at a cost of £38,000 to keep one person in jail for a year. The idea of building even more prisons, at a cost of millions of pounds to the British taxpayer, is simply not viable. Greater use must be made of community sentences (suitable for non-violent offenders), which are usually more effective and cost less.

Our prison system has degenerated into a shameful mess. Charles Clarke must now take clear and decisive action.

PAULINE CAMPBELL
Malpas, Cheshire

Sir, If more money had been spent at the bottom end of the ladder on addressing young people’s social problems at an early stage, making them aware of victims’ feelings and teaching them the consequences of offending, (all these help enormously in preventing reoffending) we would not, I believe, be in this situation now.

It is not too late: the structure is in place, and there are many dedicated but over-worked professionals having to deal with sometimes more than 50 youngsters at one time, with each of whom they need to spend several hours a week. Because there are not nearly enough of them, they are unable to achieve this. Resources must be increased drastically in order to address these issues. This will permanently reduce crime rates and lead to a happier, more stable, society.

DIANA WAINMAN.
(Volunteer member, Youth Offender Panel)
Ashe, Basingstoke

Sir, The intensive supervision and surveillance programme (ISSP) is criticised for the high reoffending rate of those on the scheme (report and leading article, October 28). Be realistic; this is a scheme used for those with the highest risk of offending and of going to custody. If the frequency of reoffending drops by 40 per cent and the seriousness of the offences by 13 per cent as the Oxford University Report quotes, that is success with these the hardest cases.

The alleged cost of £12,000 per young offender on the scheme is far, far cheaper than custody. Most youth offending teams get much less than that per ISSP case.

PAULINE BATSTONE
(Chair, National Association of Youth Offending Team Managers)
Bournemouth

Sir, With 145 prisoners per head of population , we already lock up more people than any other country in Western Europe at great economic, social and ethical cost. The clear answer is a more sparing use of prison achieved through a reduction in the remand population, a more focused use of alternative sentences and less severe punishment for non- violent crimes. If combined with more drug treatment and work opportunities for ex-offenders, such a strategy could reduce both imprisonment and reoffending.

ROB ALLEN
(Director, International Centre for Prison Studies, King's College)
London WC2B

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