Prime Minister Andrew Holness has promised to build a new prison. We need it. There are, however, serious discussions we need to have as a country before this project is undertaken.

It is my view that Jamaica needs fundamental reform to reduce our reliance on incarceration, while keeping citizens safe. We are presently using prison as a knee-jerk punishment for a majority of crimes. I suspect that, as is the case in a variety of other matters, we are guided by what is taking place in the United States. That is unfortunate. With less than 5 per cent of the world’s population, that country has nearly 25 per cent of the world’s prisoners — some 2.2 million.

The good thing about the US system is that it provides very helpful statistics, which are not available here. It also gives a reliable picture of the consequences of incarceration, for example:

*The US spends nearly US$300 billion annually to police communities and incarcerate 2.2 million people.

* The societal costs of incarceration — lost earnings, adverse health effects, and the damage to families of the incarcerated — are estimated at up to three times the direct costs, bringing the total burden of their criminal justice system to US$1.2 trillion.

*The outcomes of this expense are only a marginal reduction in crime, reduced earnings of the convicted, and a high likelihood of formerly incarcerated individuals returning to prison.

US researchers also found that 39 per cent of prisoners, some 600,000, behind bars do not need to be there for a public safety reason. I have found that in Jamaica, for some, mostly lower-level and non-violent offenders, prison is an inefficient and unfair sanction. It is with these thoughts in mind that I recommend the following:

* Eliminate prison for lower-level crimes like drug possession, petty theft, and selling weed.

* Reduce sentence minimums and maximums currently on the books. Research indicates that longer stays in prison do not lead to lower recidivism. We should trust our judges to make these decisions instead of forcing an inappropriate sentence with set-in-stone rules. Let’s make our system smarter while protecting public safety.

* Make these changes retroactive. Current inmates should be able to petition judges for retroactive application of the previously mentioned reforms. If the reform is the right policy, then we should live by it.

Having said all that, we cannot guarantee public safety without a system of confining perpetrators of serious crimes. Before the 18th century, offenders were stoned, beheaded, or had a limb severed. Incarceration replaced these. As the prevailing punishment method, the design of prisons reflected punitive patterns, reproducing ideals of enforced solitude and intimidation.

Although today’s goals of incarceration have little in common with those of centuries ago, with few exceptions, the architecture of incarceration has remained largely standardised throughout the world. In Jamaica, our fellow citizens are warehoused in dark, stinking hellholes that shocked members of the diplomatic corps who have seen them. This model of imprisonment — gloomy, overcrowded, undersized concrete cells organised along long, narrow corridors — has not constrained the introduction of rehabilitative ideals but has resulted in negative individual, societal, and economic impact.

Since 2000, the value of correctional architecture as a catalyst for positive outcomes has pushed forward-thinking architects to reassess classical models and rethink prison designs. They are now experimenting with innovative spatial concepts embedded with theories from sociology, psychology, and even ecology. These better align the physical plant of correctional facilities with the concept of humane treatment and contemporary priorities of inmate rehabilitation and successful reintegration.

Our prime minister says this prison will be on 300 acres of land. This is an excellent idea and I will say why:

1) Every inmate should be exposed to a wide variety of skills and be physically active.

2) Inmates should produce what they consume and sell the surplus. In three years, the budget of the prison system should cease to be an item on the country’s budget.

3) Inmates should be gainfully employed to provide a contribution to maintain the family of their victims and to have money to start their new life on the outside.

4) Where applicable, inmates should contribute to the cost of their trial.

Evidence-based research shows that large, crowded spaces increase an offender’s sense of isolation and anxiety. So, to aid in rehabilitation, facilities should be broken down into small units appropriately sized in accordance with security risk and needs.

Spaces should be filled with sunlight, outside views, and therapeutic colour schemes that reduce stress. Inmates should not be confined to rooms all day, but participate in scheduled activities and programming. They should be free to move about and use resources available to them under less obtrusive security.

Inmates should be entitled to privacy for sleeping, maintenance and personal hygiene, and the safekeeping of personal items.

A correctional facility requires a humanising approach to design that few other kinds of public architecture demand. The modern rehabilitation centre should provide spaces that reduce stress, fear, and trauma and stimulate motivation for participation in positive activities that reduce idleness and negative behaviour. Visitors, volunteers, and community providers should feel safe when they visit.

Recently a new management model has been introduced into correctional activities. It is called direct supervision. Using a combination of operational and management philosophy design features and staff training, direct supervision places officers in constant and direct contact with inmates, allowing them to get to know the inmates and recognise and respond to trouble before it escalates. Direct supervision has been credited with reducing vandalism; enhancing inmate and officer safety; and creating a more positive, less stressful environment for inmates and others.

Direct supervision is not only a new way of prison management; it also requires a new prison design.

While it is questionable that the world needs more prisons, there is no doubt in my mind that it needs better ones to keep pace with the progress in correctional philosophy and practices.

Many in our own correctional services see the purpose of prisons as purely a means of punishment and revenge. May I point out that many of these inmates will — sooner or later — rejoin society, and it will be to the benefit of all that they do so as rehabilitated, responsible members of society.

In order for a correctional building to function as a tool for rehabilitation, the design of a correctional facility should be based on the premise that people are capable of change and improvement.

Glenn Tucker is an educator and a sociologist. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or glenntucker2011@gmail.com.