Titan prisons 'costly and damaging'

The government has been warned that plans to build three huge 'Titan' prisons would be a "costly and hugely damaging mistake".

The Prison Reform Trust said the 2,500-place jails would do little or nothing to cut crime and would instead "destabilise the criminal justice system for years to come".

The report follows criticism on Tuesday, when a prison watchdog said they would struggle to cope with the needs of different kinds of criminals in one jail.

The trust used figures from the Chief Inspector of Prisons to show that smaller jails score higher than large ones in 102 of 153 measures used to assess safety and effectiveness.

It also said an independent review carried out by Lord Carter may have been predetermined from the outset.

Only 17 of the 51 organisations Lord Carter met during the review were asked about Titan jails, it said.

It also highlights concerns over cost, saying construction estimates have already risen from £350m to £450m each.

Prison Reform Trust director Juliet Lyon said: "The government is on the verge of making a massive, costly and hugely damaging mistake that will destabilise the criminal justice system for years to come.

"Giant US-style prisons may be easier to build but all the evidence here and abroad says the price we would pay in running them, and in higher reoffending rates, is far too high.

"If ministers want prisons to be focused on rehabilitation, rather than warehousing offenders until they are released, then it is not too late to make these plans disappear as fast as they appeared."

Prisons minister David Hanson said: "We believe Titan prison complexes are an essential part of a modernised prison estate, that they will be the most effective way of providing value for money for taxpayers and of keeping them safe by reducing reoffending.

"Prison is vital but it is also expensive - we are absolutely determined to deliver a modernised prison estate which protects the public, rehabilitates offenders and represents the best use of taxpayers' money."

He added: "We have already made clear that we are not going to build giant warehouses - we intend Titans to be clusters made up of a number of smaller units within one perimeter wall."