The Justice Secretary was speaking ahead of official figures, published yesterday, which showed that the prison population has hit another record high.
Mr Clarke was taking part in a television debate on how the criminal justice system treated the rioters after the disturbances in England last month.
Mr Clarke said: “It [prison] is an extremely expensive way to accommodating people for a time and making no progress whatever in stopping them being criminals.”
Mr Clarke also told the BBC2’s Newsnight programme on Thursday night : “The prison population has soared pointlessly. I would like to stabilise the situation.”
He said he had been worried by “the sheer casual criminality” showed by the rioters during the trouble across towns and cities in England.
The number of offenders locked up in jails in England hit a record high after the riots as more rioters were held on remand, rather than released on bail.
Figures published yesterday show that 87,120 people are in prison in England and Wales – just 1,627 below the prison estate’s full capacity.
Other figures have shown that three-quarters of those who were charged over the riots had a criminal record.
Mr Clarke said he was not “naïve” about the problem: “Half the people we have in prison will be back in a year and three quarters of them will commit more offences.”
Mr Clarke added: “The re-offending figures in this country are a disgrace, they've got to be tackled.”
Priti Patel, a Conservative backbench MP, said ministers had to make prisons into a place where offenders felt they were being punished.
She said: “Prisons need to be a place where people are punished and once they are released into the community they should know that going back to prison is the worst possible outcome for them. Currently the system dos not do that.”
Commenting on the prison population figures, Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “A record prison population is a sign of failure, not success.
“As the prison population reaches an all-time high, it is more important than ever to address our failing penal policy.
“People leave prison more dangerous than when they first entered having learnt criminal tricks of the trade in our colleges of crime.”
Meanwhile an ICM survey carried out for the Prison Reform Trust found that nearly three quarters of people believe victims should have a say in how the offender can best make amends for the harm they have caused.
Eight out 10 people thought that parents should supervise their children better to prevent them getting into trouble with the police, the research found.
By Christopher Hope taken from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8768492/Prison-doesnt-achieve-anything-says-Ken-Clarke.html
Figures published yesterday show that 87,120 people are in prison in England and Wales – just 1,627 below the prison estate’s full capacity.
Other figures have shown that three-quarters of those who were charged over the riots had a criminal record.
Mr Clarke said he was not “naïve” about the problem: “Half the people we have in prison will be back in a year and three quarters of them will commit more offences.”
Mr Clarke added: “The re-offending figures in this country are a disgrace, they've got to be tackled.”
Priti Patel, a Conservative backbench MP, said ministers had to make prisons into a place where offenders felt they were being punished.
She said: “Prisons need to be a place where people are punished and once they are released into the community they should know that going back to prison is the worst possible outcome for them. Currently the system dos not do that.”
Commenting on the prison population figures, Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “A record prison population is a sign of failure, not success.
“As the prison population reaches an all-time high, it is more important than ever to address our failing penal policy.
“People leave prison more dangerous than when they first entered having learnt criminal tricks of the trade in our colleges of crime.”
Meanwhile an ICM survey carried out for the Prison Reform Trust found that nearly three quarters of people believe victims should have a say in how the offender can best make amends for the harm they have caused.
Eight out 10 people thought that parents should supervise their children better to prevent them getting into trouble with the police, the research found.
By Christopher Hope taken from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8768492/Prison-doesnt-achieve-anything-says-Ken-Clarke.html
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