The only way to halt the tide of prison deaths is to dramatically reduce the prison population, invest in community alternatives and transform the nature of prisons, write Deborah Coles, Joe Sim and Steve Tombs

The devastating report on Liverpool prison describes a broken institution (Liverpool prison has ‘worst conditions inspectors have seen’, 19 January). The squalid conditions and institutionalised degradation of prisoners is shocking. It also reveals the unofficial punishments used by staff, inadequate scrutiny of the high use of force, the treatment of black and minority ethnic prisoners, the dismissive attitude towards prisoners, the non-investigation of unexplained injuries and the lack of first-night supervision, so crucial in preventing self-inflicted deaths.

As with Nottingham prison, where the inspectorate found serious failures in safety, repeated in earlier reports, previous recommendations for improving the Liverpool regime have been effectively ignored. This raises issues about the lamentable complacency around accountability at all levels of the prison service and government and the lack of any oversight body to monitor and follow up on actions taken after prison inspections, investigations and inquests into prison deaths. What will it take to change this lack of accountability, particularly around deaths in custody? Utilising the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 would be a start. Not only is the prison system broken, so too are the current mechanisms for ensuring its accountability.

Ultimately, however, the only way to halt the morally indefensible tide of prison deaths and safety concerns is to dramatically reduce the prison population, invest in community alternatives and transform the nature and culture of prisons so they become places of last resort, where rehabilitation is more than a rhetorical fantasy. This course of action will truly contribute to the safety and wellbeing of prisoners, caring staff and the wider public.

Deborah Coles Director, Inquest

Professor Joe Sim Liverpool John Moores University

Professor Steve Tombs The Open University

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