Prison System Fundamentally Designed to Enforce Violence and Degradation
Recent analysis from Inquest's extensive casework reveals a disturbing truth about the British prison system: it inherently enforces violence, degradation and dehumanisation upon those confined within its walls. This institutional reality stands in stark contrast to narratives that frame prison violence as merely the result of individual actions between inmates.
Homicides Expose Systemic Failures Rather Than Individual Acts
While recent discussions have focused on prisoner-on-prisoner homicides, this perspective dangerously limits understanding of how violence operates within the prison environment. Hundreds of people die in British prisons each year, with the majority of deaths resulting from suicide, medical neglect or drug-related incidents. Even when examining homicides specifically, these tragedies reveal how violence functions at an institutional level rather than as isolated incidents.
The recent inquest into the death of Sundeep Ghuman provides a particularly illuminating case study. The jury concluded that multiple systemic failures by the prison establishment contributed directly to his unlawful killing, not merely the actions of his cellmate. Specifically, the prison was found to have forced Sundeep to share a cell with a known racist, creating a dangerous environment that directly contributed to his death. Furthermore, the inquest revealed that placing three men in a nine-square-metre cell designed for only two significantly increased tensions and created volatile conditions.
Prisons as Active Perpetrators of Harm and Death
Tragic deaths like Sundeep Ghuman's reinforce the uncomfortable reality that prisons should be viewed as active perpetrators of harm and death within our society. These institutions systematically subject individuals to various forms of institutional violence including physical restraint, taser deployment, daily 23-hour lockups in confined cells, indefinite segregation practices, and the denial of basic human necessities ranging from adequate food and medicine to fundamental items like underwear.
Contrary to suggestions that prison homicides represent a new crisis, historical data reveals a consistent pattern. Since records began in 1978, there has been no significant year-on-year increase in prison homicides, with annual figures oscillating between zero and eight cases. This consistency suggests that violence is not an aberration but rather an embedded feature of the prison system.
The Inherent Nature of Prison Violence
Inquest's comprehensive casework exposes how prisons fundamentally enforce violence, degradation and dehumanisation as inherent characteristics of their operation. The organisation's research demonstrates that there are no "good prisons" and there never will be, as the institution itself is designed around principles of punishment and control rather than rehabilitation or genuine societal protection.
Extensive research has long proven that prisons fail to achieve their stated goals of rehabilitation or crime deterrence. Rather than addressing underlying societal issues, prisons consistently exacerbate existing problems, creating cycles of harm that extend far beyond prison walls and affect communities across the country.
Breaking the Cycle of Institutional Violence
To genuinely address this systemic issue and break the cycle of violence, fundamental changes to criminal justice policy are urgently required. The government must cease its current prison building programme, significantly reduce the prison population through alternative sentencing approaches, and redirect resources toward community-based services designed to prevent contact with the criminal justice system in the first place.
Only through such comprehensive reform can Britain begin to address the institutional violence that has become embedded within its prison system and move toward more humane, effective approaches to justice and community safety.
