The definition of prison is a building to which people are legally committed as a punishment for a crime or while awaiting trial but I think I should be a system that is meant to safely rehabilitate a convict so they are able to be integrated back into normal society. The prison system is broken. Men and women have to live and breathe in a cell for a limited amount of time and should be able to do this as safely as possible.

In 2011 the BBC filed a report about Wandsworth prison saying that it is ” unsafe and demeaning ” . The prisoners were locked up for up to 22 hours a day because there were high levels of self harm and gang related fights. On 29 January 2015, Channel 4 went to HMP Pentonville to see the living conditions of prisoners; inmates were using mobile phones inside the jail and were also selling illegal narcotics within the jail walls. Most prisoners were convicted for drug trafficking and were transported to prisons where it is easier to sell then if there were in the outside world.

The problem with prison is that there is a congregation of criminals with various crimes from various backgrounds, meaning you are incarcerated with strangers. This is the atmosphere the National Crime Agency want criminals to live with and they are meant to rehabilitate themselves so that they will never end up in this predicament again. Certain people can take this in the wrong way, some learn better ways to commit crimes and some learn that crime is not a form of entertainment or a good way to obtain funds.

Prisons have a segregation wing, this is an area of the prison that you go to if you have been behaving badly or you are a threat to yourself and others around you. In 2014, 82 inmates took their own lives, this shows the mental strain that is placed upon the prisoners from the atmosphere they call home. The prison should have security protocols in place to make sure that things like this do not happen. I know the purpose of prison is to punish those who have broken the law, but what needs to be understood is that these prisoners are normal people and have rights like everybody else even if they have broken the law. Once the police have you in custody it should be their responsibility to keep you safe regardless of what crime you have done.

I think that conjugal visits help the rehabilitation process, being able to talk or touch a loved one gives you that bit of freedom you should have as a human being. Prisoners are able to play music in their cell and can have pictures of friends and family this can help to motivate an inmate to behavior in prison; but can also anger the inmate because they can see and hear what they are missing.

In my option imprisoning people is basically treating human beings like animals , I was taught that an eye for an eye is the best way to handle a situation; for example if you steal you should have something of equal worth taken from you that way the law is fair.

I believe that prison is not a good form of rehabilitation; as an inmate you are made to live around fellow inmates and are expected to change into a good Samaritan. This can be effective if the right plans are put in place, this all comes down to the government. You should be able to get a form of education and a source of food and exercise; but the fact that prisoners can obtain drugs and weapons means that the prison system is faulty and needs to be fixed.