UK looks at Texas supermax prison for ideas to cut overcrowding

A pungent odor of detergent and rotten nutrient hits maine arsenic we locomotion done this tremendous high-security prison. Inmates property themselves up against the bars to look astatine us. There are nary smiles, lone expressionless stares.

A antheral with a tattoo that swirls crossed his look shouts, "Where you from, ma'am?"

"England."

"Hope you bask Estelle," helium says.

"Do you?" I ask.

"A batch amended than wherever I was before."

Welcome to the Estelle Supermax Penitentiary successful Huntsville, Texas.

Concrete watchtowers punctuate the perimeter of this immense abstraction - equivalent successful size to astir 3,000 shot pitches - and a motion with an representation of a red-maned lion and the words Stay Hungry - Feast connected Success greets unit and visitors arsenic they enter.

The UK authorities is looking to Estelle situation for ideas - for ways to trim reoffending and to bring down captive numbers successful our already overcrowded jails. There's a strategy present they'd similar to emulate, which gives inmates the accidental to shorten their sentences by having a occupation portion they're inside.

Looking to this situation for inspiration mightiness look a funny prime to many, fixed Texas executes much radical than immoderate different US state. But ministers accidental by implementing schemes akin to ones utilized here, UK prisoners volition beryllium incentivised to summation qualifications - giving them much accidental of employment erstwhile released.

Just 1 successful 5 offenders successful England and Wales has a occupation six weeks aft being released from custody, the latest stats show. According to the Ministry of Justice, radical who are inactive unemployed six weeks aft being released are doubly arsenic apt to reoffend arsenic those successful employment.

No situation successful the UK has arsenic galore inmates arsenic they bash astatine Estelle. More than 3,000 men successful achromatic jail-suits are presently locked up present - from murderers and rapists, to those doing clip for lesser crimes similar shoplifting and fraud. Two inmates are connected decease row.

Jimmy Delgado is 52 and serving 3 beingness sentences for first-degree murder. He's already been wrong for 25 years - 13 spent successful solitary confinement. He's a ample antheral with muscular shoulders and smiles broadly erstwhile we conscionable successful the situation chapel, softly shaking my hand. He tells maine helium archetypal ended up successful situation aged conscionable 16, aft carrying retired a robbery.

He's remorseful for his crimes and says this situation - unneurotic with his religion successful Jesus - has helped crook his beingness astir by giving him purpose. He present works arsenic a counsellor, supporting offenders who are struggling to header with beingness successful prison.

"I'm present for taking a beingness - and I'm present to prevention aggregate lives," helium says. "If I tin alteration the dynamic of household beingness for each these guys that are present past I've done my occupation - adjacent if I ne'er get retired of prison."

Delgado whitethorn ne'er beryllium released, but inmates having jobs successful situation is 1 of the reasons wherefore Estelle Supermax Penitentiary is appealing to the UK government.

The "good clip credit" strategy utilized present gives inmates the accidental to trim their clip down bars by participating successful courses and studying for qualifications, taking up jobs, and behaving well.

Credits earned are past added to the fig of days the captive has already spent successful jail, allowing them to scope their parole eligibility day sooner - erstwhile a sheet decides if they're suitable for aboriginal release. This process depends connected the classification of their transgression and an appraisal by the parole committee connected their wide rehabilitation.

Off the agelong corridor that runs done the main situation building, inmates are softly moving successful a tiny barbers. Kevin Smith is wrong for insignificant offences. He is meticulously cutting a subordinate of staff's hairsbreadth with a brace of clippers, and says the bully clip recognition strategy has made him consciousness affirmative astir his clip successful prison.

"They helped maine spot that if I bash the close happening and marque the close decisions, I tin bash amended successful life," helium says. "I person bully clip by moving here, and I tin get retired earlier with the bully clip that I received - it works."

The rates of those returning to situation wrong 3 years of merchandise person fallen to 20.3% successful Texas - a fraction of those successful the remainder of the United States (68%).

The BBC came to Estelle to spot their recognition strategy successful enactment with UK justness caput Shabana Mahmood.

"The Texans had a strategy akin to ours - connected the constituent of collapse, moving retired of situation places successful 2007," Ms Mahmood says. "They've present got a sustainable situation colonisation - but astir importantly, they've been capable to massively chopped the rates of reoffending here. They've got a complaint of transgression present that they haven't seen since the 1960s."

She believes the Texan recognition strategy is effectual - helping prisoners get retired of situation aboriginal - and enactment out. "It does assistance prisoners crook their backs connected a beingness of crime."

The Texas situation colonisation is the highest of immoderate authorities successful the US, with 134,668 radical successful custody successful the autumn of 2024 - though implicit the past mates of decades, since reforms were implemented, that fig has reduced by astir 20%. However, immoderate experts accidental the bully clip recognition programme is not a magic bullet.

"The incentivisation strategy has small to bash with the reforms that helped bring Texas's situation colonisation down successful 2007," says Michele Deitch, a transgression justness argumentation lecturer astatine the University of Texas. "And by itself it volition bash small to code the UK's precise superior overcrowding problem."

What would marque a existent difference, she says, would beryllium diverting much radical from incarceration successful the archetypal place: "To shorten sentences, to trim the usage of recalls to prison, and to put much heavy successful rehabilitative programs successful situation and successful programs and services successful the community."

As good arsenic incentivisation, the UK authorities is besides considering the usage of "diversion programmes" - wherever offenders are sent connected rehabilitation courses alternatively than to jail. This tin use to radical with addiction issues oregon intelligence wellness problems. It's what they bash present successful Texas to trim the load connected the courts and effort to benignant the basal origin of the offence.

More radical person been enactment to decease successful Texas than anyplace other successful the US. Since the Supreme Court reinstated superior punishment successful 1976, 593 prisoners person been executed. There are 176 radical presently connected decease enactment - truthful it mightiness look unusual the UK authorities could instrumentality a leafage retired of their book.

Even so, the justness caput believes determination is inactive overmuch the UK tin larn from what happens astatine Estelle.

"I don't deliberation that the information that they person the decease punishment present means that we shouldn't beryllium learning lessons from strategies that they've introduced that truly work," Ms Mahmood says.

It's a program with "huge imaginable successful the UK" according to Nick Hardwick, a erstwhile main inspector of prisons, who believes it volition marque prisons safer and much productive.

"It volition assistance guarantee prisoners are doing what is indispensable to trim the hazard they volition reoffend and make much victims," helium says.

But not everyone agrees with incentivising convicted criminals to enactment towards an aboriginal merchandise from prison.

Samantha Nicholls' lad was murdered successful 2018. Twenty-two twelvemonth aged Joe Pooley was thrown into a stream successful Ipswich and held nether the water. Three radical were jailed for his execution successful 2021. Joe's parent believes inmates should ne'er beryllium released earlier their condemnation is complete.

"Prison is simply a punishment - you should bash your time," she says. "It needs to beryllium a deterrent - you're determination due to the fact that you did thing wrong."

It's wide the UK needs to find solutions to chopped situation overcrowding – and find them fast. Even the caller captive aboriginal merchandise strategy volition hardly support gait with much offenders being jailed. New situation buildings volition instrumentality years to travel connected stream. But does this Texan situation person the answers?

The situation for ministers and the transgression justness strategy is however to halt the revolving doors connected the UK's prisons - the reoffending and deficiency of prospects facing those who are released which draws them backmost into crime.