28 August 2008
Dear Secretary of State for Justice

On the day that the Government’s consultation closes, we are writing to you to highlight our opposition to the building of Titan prisons.

The Government’s proposals to build three Titans, each housing around 2,500 prisoners, would cement this country’s position as the prison capital of western Europe, while squandering billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money which could be better spent elsewhere. The proposals ignore evidence that smaller, local prisons work better than large ones, raise serious concerns about the wellbeing and safety of prisoners and prison staff, and would put at risk relationships between prisoners and their families.

The Government cannot build its way out of the current crisis in the prison system, as you have previously acknowledged, and further expansion of the prison estate would be damaging both socially and economically. Instead of rushing headlong into an expensive prison-building programme, the Government must shelve its plans for Titan prisons and instead focus on addressing the causes of the growing prison population.

The evidence is clear; Titan prisons are not the solution to the prisons crisis. As members of the Criminal Justice Alliance, a coalition of organisations working in the criminal justice system, we urge you to abandon these misguided proposals for Titan prisons before they become a reality.

Yours sincerely

Lucy Gampell, Director, Action for Prisoners’ Families
Davlin Brydson, Chair, Association of Black Probation Officers
Angela Clay, Chairman, Association of Members of Independent Monitoring Boards
Emma Norton, Bindmans LLP
Denise Marshall, Group Co-ordinator, Birth Companions
Christopher Jones, Chair, Churches’ Criminal Justice Forum
Clive Martin, Director, Clinks
Dr Katherine Rake, Director, Fawcett Society
Professor Mike Hough, Director, Institute for Criminal Policy Research
Rob Allen, Director, International Centre for Prison Studies
Deb Coles and Helen Shaw, Co-Directors, INQUEST
Sally Ireland, Senior Legal Officer (Criminal Justice), JUSTICE
Gareth Crossman, Policy Director, Liberty
Paul Cavadino, Chief Executive, Nacro
Harry Fletcher, Assistant General Secretary, Napo
Chris Thomas, Chief Executive, New Bridge
Andy Keen-Downs, Director, pact
Colin Moses, National Chair, Prison Officers’ Association
Juliet Lyon, Director, Prison Reform Trust
Pat Jones, Director, Prisoners’ Education Trust
Alan Hooker, Director, Prisoners’ Families and Friends Service
Paula Harvey, Programme Manager, Quaker Crime, Community and Justice Group
Joyce Moseley, Chief Executive, Rainer Crime Concern
Sebastian Saville, Executive Director, Release
Harriet Bailey, Chief Executive, Restorative Justice Consortium
Paul Corry, Director of Public Affairs, Rethink
Baroness Linklater, Chair, Rethinking Crime and Punishment
Kevin Ireland, Interim Chief Executive, Revolving Doors Agency
Fran Sainsbury, RSA Prison Learning Network
Sean Duggan, Director of Prisons and Criminal Justice Programme, Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health
Lucie Russell, Director, SmartJustice
Gary Kernaghan, New Business Director, SOVA
Steve Rolles, Research Co-ordinator, Transform Drug Policy Foundation
Bobby Cummines, Chief Executive, UNLOCK
Suzanne Sibillin, Director, Women in Prison