Life in Uk Prisons

The purpose of this dissertation is ascertain the way that prisons, in England and Wales operate the way they do and what the key factors are that govern their actions. Following the Second World War the prison population in England and Wales rose dramatically and still continues to increase, this is despite the fact that crime rates have been on a decrease since 1997. The cause for this increase in prisoners is that judges have become overzealous with handing out custodial sentences; this has been due to public demand and changes in the law. Prison Guards are the front line of managing prisons and, from the prisoners view point is where the power lies. However, when talking about prison guards are very rarely mentioned and it seems that they have been overlooked. The relationship that they build up with the prisoners is incredibly important. This work will describe how relationships and other factors affect recidivism rates, drug use and illegitimate behaviour in prisons in England and Wales.