An alliance of British authors have some harsh words for the government's new rules that prohibit prisoners from receiving the works of their favorite authors while serving time behind bars.
The book ban, which falls under the government’s Incentives and
Earned Privileges initiative passed in November, denies inmates
the right to receive packages from beyond the walls of the prison
unless they can prove “exceptional circumstances” such
as a health condition.
The ruling, which seems to fly in the face of the country’s rich
literary heritage, has come under fire from a number of eminent
British writers, including Alan Bennett, Sir Salman Rushdie,
Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan, Irvine Welsh and Nick Hornby, who
signed their names to a letter blasting the decision.
“We are extremely concerned at new rules that ban family and
friends sending in books to prisoners. Whilst we understand that
prisons must be able to apply incentives to reward good behavior
by prisoners, we do not believe that education and reading should
be part of that policy,” says the letter, which was signed
by more than 80 leading British authors.
”Books represent a lifeline behind bars, a way of nourishing
the mind and filling the many hours that prisoners spend locked
in their cells. In an environment with no internet access and
only limited library facilities, books become all the more
important.
“We urge the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice,
Chris Grayling, to reconsider the Prison Service Instruction that
limits books and other essentials being sent to prisoners from
family and friends.”
The government, which is promoting an incentives program that
allows inmates to earn extra funds to purchase books, has
defended its decision to prohibit prisoners from receiving books
from the outside by the need to protect against items deemed
dangerous.
“The restrictions on access to parcels by prisoners are
necessary because of the need to limit the ability of offenders
to get hold of drugs and contraband,” Grayling wrote on the
ConservativeHome website.
"It was never the case that prisoners were simply allowed
unlimited parcels – books or otherwise … It would be a logistical
impossibility to search them all, and they would provide an easy
route for illegal materials. The only change over the past few
months has been to ensure all prisoners are treated the
same.”
The critics fired back, pointing to direct passages in the ruling
that forbid parcels sent to prisoners. Section 10.4 of the
Incentives and Earned Privileges guidelines states: "To
ensure that the Incentive Earned Privileges scheme is not
undermined the general presumption will be that items for
prisoners will not be handed in or sent in by their friends or
families unless there are exceptional circumstances."
British political observer Ian Hunt, writing in his blog at
Politics.co.uk, accused Grayling of being “disingenuous”
because the prohibited items “include books and magazine
subscriptions." Hunt says it is “simply a matter of fact
that prisoners' access to reading material has been
curtailed.”
Frances Crook, the chief executive of the Howard League for Penal
Reform, was the first to report on the British book ban. She said
prison libraries are the first to feel the pinch when government
budgets fall under the spending ax.
“Prison libraries are supplied and funded by local
authorities and have often been surprisingly good, but so many
libraries are now closing and cutting costs that inevitably the
first service to feel the pinch is in prison,” Crook wrote
at Politics.co.uk.
“Whilst many will not want to read a book to pass these
endless hours, many boys I have met in prison do indeed read
avidly.”
At the same time, many inmates hope to use their time in prison
as an opportunity to advance themselves and extend their
education so they are better prepared for life outside of the
prison’s walls. But if prison libraries are limited in supply of
study material, and inmates are forbidden from receiving such
publications from family and friends, then many will have no
chance to get the books they need.
Meanwhile, David Cameron's spokesman said yesterday that the
prime minister fully supported Grayling’s Incentives and Earned
Privileges program, which is becoming a divisive political issue.
A petition on the change.org website calling for ending the book
ban had attracted more than 15,000 signatures.