I think you are right, the BT VOIP transistion happened half way through our contract, got a free phone (had a choice between phone and adaptor) and no change in cost, however at next renewal i suspect there will be a change. Although BT are actively trying to get everyone on fibre so they can turn off the old systems, which should reduce their operational costs. I dont think these savings will filter to rhe end user 
Which shows the prisons arenât doing the job, because they are not reducing the recidivism rate in the slightest, the prisons are just making people worse because theyâre so full of drugs, violence and loons that even moderately normal people sent there come out having been on survival mode the whole time.
Oh, and we already have three strike rules, several of them.
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The start point for a life changing attempt murder on a police officer is 35 years. Serve minimum 2/3. And thatâs for a first time offender.
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Plus as a country weâve abandoned whole swathes of society so many people feel that they have no option other than to get back into crime in their release. Itâs not like they have qualifications to fall back on, and very few employers will take ex-cons as a first job after prison (I think Timpsons are a good exception).
I agree, there comes a point that we probably need to give up on people, but letâs give them a chance before we get that far. More money spent on mental health services, drug services, youth groups etc would save a fortune in the long run compared to what we spend on the criminal justice system.
I also accept there are some people who donât want help and are just evil/highly antisocial but I donât think weâve got the balance right at all yet as a country.
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Itâs also not helped by the perception that prison is still a cross between Porridge and Hi-Di-Hi, instead of the reality that itâs basically a lawless, drug fuelled nightmare.
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That seems a tad harsh. Imagine going from a 1 year sentence to life just because youâre lazy.
Iâd suggest maybe just they donât get extra outside time (or whatever prisoners like doing).
Donât even try and apply logic to that nonsensical idea. I could write a lengthy essay about why it wouldnât work, but no amount of reason could convince someone who even for a moment thinks thatâs a reasonable way to run a criminal justice system that itâs a bad idea.
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Itâs not offenders like that which are the problem.
Medium Culpability, Medium Harm Burglary has a starting point of 18 months. By the time you take off 1/3 for the guilty plea and give them half on license you are at 6 months inside for one of the most horrendous volume crimes out there.
Yes we need to put more money into MH, but soft sentencing for volume crime and a flawed concept of youth justice needs a huge amount of toughening up and investment too.
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Minimum three years on the third, and the sentences ramp up quicker than that anyway.
The problem with those particular offenders, the repeat low level burglars, is theyâre almost all, to a man, drug addicts. The idea is that sending them inside should give them a chance to detox, sort out some courses and come out with better prospects.
Instead, we put them in a violent house full of spice addicts, where itâs easier to get drugs than it is in the outside world. We then release them onto the street outside prison with nothing but ÂŁ50 and a renewed drug habit.
And then we wonder why theyâre back a few weeks later? Itâs the definition of insanity!
You wanna reduce the prison population fast? Re-sentence the IPP prisoners to determinate sentences. Iâm surprised more of those poor sods havenât committed suicide already.
I thought there was only a handful of prisoners left on IPPs?
According to Prison Reform Trust there were 2892 in April this year
It wouldnât surprise me if we still have more left in the system serving under them than David Blunkett thought weâd ever issue in the first place!
Eh?
We aint all legals.
Imprisonment for Public Protection. Essentially given where a life sentence wasnât allowed under legislation, but it was wanted anyway. In fact they are worse than life sentences
The idea was to give out these sentences to the worst of the worst. You served a minimum period of time, but then wouldnât be released until the parole board said so.
The problem was they were given out like sweets. 8000 or so between 2005 and 2012, when they were abolished. There are still 2,000+ people still awaiting them to end.
Theyâre awful, you have people who got them for almost nothing compared to people whoâve done far worse since, served and been released under the new system. One guy had a minimum tariff of 18 months, and has served 18 years.
The problem is thereâs such a shortage of courses in prison generally, and because these people have no release date, thereâs no urgency to get them on courses, theyâre always gazumped by determinate prisoners who need courses ahead of confirmed release dates.
The people still on them are basically hopeless, their self harm and suicide rates are higher than all other prison categories, arguably their in worse states than the whole lifers, because at least those people KNOW theyâre not getting out. The IPP lot have the burden of hope.
Shouldnât cost much just to run a basic phone.
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Need to run the router. They donât draw much power. If the manufacturers moved away from bespoke power connections to USB-C would just be a matter of plugging in a powerbank.
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The problem is things like this need to be idiot proof. Is someone plugged it into a 5V 1A outlet, and then it doesnât work, theyâll blame the device, as it actually needs 15W, for example.