Book Review: "Time After Time" by Chris Atkins

I'm quite interested in the prison systems across the world and how they work. Back when I read Let the Lord Sort Them a few months ago, I was surprised at how horrifying the American death row system actually was and how often it got things wrong and that doesn't just mean that they executed the wrong person - it means that the system is definitely rigged against some. Chris Atkins though, writes about the British prison system, where the death penalty thankfully doesn't exist (I don't trust the government to make the correct decisions on whether prisoners live or not). But there are so many damn things wrong that if you're not angry, then you're not paying attention. The British Government, no matter who is in charge, is the biggest joke in the country.

One of the first points made in the book is perhaps its biggest one: repeat punishments do not work, in fact punishments for low-level crimes often don't work and result in the person reoffending. He gives the example of a young boy who grew up in the foster care system, committing his first crime on paper at the age of 10 years' old. After receiving punishment quite harsh for a 10-year-old, he goes on to grow up with a life of crime, however petty, which is also slowly increasing in its frequency. The only result is repeated and harsher punishments, but nobody ever addresses the root cause of how this boy acted out back when he was 10.

This encapsulates the issue: it is not the crime itself that is the problem but the way the system deals with the person who committed it that lends itself to happening again. Atkins writes this as a reported anecdote from the boy himself. It is sad to read and you can just tell he's been completely let down by a system that preached it would protect youngsters just like him. It is all too a familiar story of disappointment in the British governing bodies.

Another point he makes quite often is that the way in which the prison system works means that those who offend are very likely to live their lives on the line. The 'probation' model, he states, is an evil thing. Most prisoners reoffend at this time because they are ill-adjusted to modern life in the outside world and so, look to get back inside for something. Even those who have clearly stated to their parole officers that they will reoffend once out were shrugged off, let out and of course, someone died as a result. Showing that the British Government does not care about prisoners and does not care about victims.

The author also states that this time out of prison is a weird one since many released are not allowed to use the internet, but require to apply for benefits (or "welfare" to our American friends). When one man phoned his officer to make sure he was allowed to use to internet to apply for government benefits (since he wasn't allowed to work due to having a conviction) he was told no, and so he could get no money at all. Due to this issue, many offenders actually end up committing suicide out of the fact that there are no prospects for them. It is a horrifying ordeal and definitely put a lot of things into perspective for me. With reoffenders though, it is more likely that for a minor infringement (even in some cases, where it isn't proven there was a crime committed), they will be right back in prison serving time. This really is no resolution at all.

The support simply is not there. Through many interviews and anecdotes, through his own time in jail for tax-fraud and through many other analyses, Chris Atkins lends his ear to those who have just been turned around and around through yet another British machine which only seeks to keep people in jobs that drain public money - showing their perhaps doing something with all those high taxes. It is really an eye-opener to how stupid yet another one of the systems is. One mistake, for whatever reason, often without any context, could mean a lifetime of spinning around in a system filled with robotic idiots that care about nobody except for who writes their wage-slips. It almost reminds me of all those people who end up committing suicide because of the DWP - the British Government is not fit for purpose.