Letter: Point of prison

Michael Kelly's excellent analysis of short-term imprisonment (Perspective, 4 August) exposes a penal policy which patently does not work in the majority of cases.

More worryingly, it also highlights an appetite for punishment at all costs - regardless of the outcome or effectiveness of the intervention.

A vengeful society is not an effective one when it comes to reducing offending in our communities. There are reams of research and a queue of learned opinion ready to testify that - for many - short-term imprisonment is ineffective, counter-productive and costly.

Imprisonment is the appropriate sentence for serious violent offenders; indeed, custody and punishment have an important role in our justice system. But short-term imprisonment should not be a default position for so many when their issues, such as homelessness, alcohol and drug addiction, are not addressed. We need more considered and informed articles like this to help stop the myth being perpetuated. Locking people up for a few weeks results in most coming out to offend again.

Attitudes can be changed where there is a will and they can change remarkably quickly. We all accept we must wear seatbelts. We all know a diet of excessive fried food and cigarettes does us no good. We know we cannot drink and drive. Given the evidence, the public can make an informed decision on these issues.

It is to every citizen's benefit that we temper our demand for vengeance and put our energies into rehabilitating offenders and addressing the reasons why they do what they do.

Yes, the desire for retribution is undeniably strong but it's not as strong as wanting to live our lives, free from the fear of becoming a victim of crime.

Tom Halpin

Sacro

Albany Street

Edinburgh