Ken Clarke’s recommendation that prisoners should work 40 hour weeks for minimum wage pay, with a proportion of their income going to help victims, has received overwhelming support from the British public according to our recent survey.
- 83% of people support the idea of prisoners being paid minimum wage with part of their earnings going towards their victims.
- 46% ‘strongly support’ the proposal, and a further 37% say they ‘tend to support’ the idea.
- In contrast 11% of the population oppose the idea. Wages will prevent re-offending?Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke suggested at the Conservative Party Conference that prisoners should be made to work 40 hour weeks in prison, for which they would be paid the minimum wage. However the prisoners would not be able to keep all of their earnings as part would go towards organisations that help their victims.Mr Clarke argued that making prisoners work for a wage would help decrease levels of re-offending. Prisoners frequently succumb to ‘sluggishness and boredom’ in prison, but engaging them in ‘routine hard work’ would prepare them for life outside. Justice Minister Nick Herbert supported Mr Clarke’s comments, informing the BBC that ‘purposeful activity and work’ would also help prisoners with mental health and drug problems.Survey details and full results
