Short jail terms 'hinder efforts to go straight' '

Serving several short sentences prevents criminals dealing with problems such as addiction and breaking the cycle of offending, a new study has claimed.

Today's report by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research found the typical short-sentence prisoner has a serious, long-term issue with drugs and/or alcohol, which is directly linked to their pattern of offending.

Researchers found that, in general, the offenders wanted to get their lives back together and become law-abiding citizens. But criminals perceived short sentences as an "obstacle" to efforts they might be making to deal with their problems while out in the community.

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The study said: "Ironically, the lengths of prison sentences that chronic drug/alcohol users are most likely to receive are also precisely the sentences where it is least likely that help in addressing addiction can be provided.

"The short sentence mainly seems to be used by prisoners as a drying-out session, which does allow a person some sober time to reflect on the direction of their lives. This reflection rarely develops into a sustained period of staying off drugs, however, and using prison essentially as a detox facility is an expensive proposition.

"This research suggests short sentences tend to get in the way of people's efforts to deal with addiction, and so are likely to delay the point at which a person fully abstains from substance abuse and, therefore, offending."

Researchers found that, given a choice, almost everyone questioned would choose a community sentence over a prison sentence, because it provided the routine of work and schedule, a direct sense of paying back the community for harm done and a sense of accomplishment. They also found that it is the cumulative effect of doing many short sentences, more than the experience of any single sentence, which carries the largely negative impacts of short-term imprisonment.

For many people, short sentences have become a regular life activity and the constant coming and going between community and prison interrupts the ability to deal with drug and alcohol issues, strengthen family relationships and become employable, the study said. Some had served the equivalent of a life sentence in short sentences.

Beth Weaver, from the Glasgow School of Social Work, who jointly led the study, said: "Even people who felt negatively about community-based sentences said they would prefer them to a short term in prison."None of them felt prison was a more useful, helpful or meaningful form of punishment, except in some cases of serious drug and alcohol problems.

"This would suggest more may need to be done to support people to access the kinds of support they need in the community to address their drug and alcohol dependencies, which could benefit them and society more widely."

The report said prison was "an expensive and unpredictable technique for triggering reflection and change".