Jails work do they? Very good at rehabilitating people. Or do you just want people locked up forever.
The UK had a good system in place that assessed offenders, gave them an opportunity to review their life, make positive choices towards a positive outcome; providing therapy, support, treatment, education and inclusion.
But it cost quite a lot of money to run.
The Tories when they got in - the first thing they did was start to disband it. They'd rather prisoners rot in a cheaply run cell, run by a half-arsed security firm. They have always been the Party that has 'known the price of everything and known the value of nothing'
I'd imagine that things in US Prisons are much, much worse. Well.. given documentaries and news items you see. Not living in America, you can't be certain, but they look shocking. This three-strike bullshit and holding peoples food back unless they enact in slave Labour doesn't help either I'd wager.
But studies have shown that if you just lob people into jails and give them no councilling, help, support, educaiton and give them no opportunity to be seperated from dangerous people then they'll just come out twice as nasty and twice as dangerous as they went in. Conservatives argue that it 'costs too much' but does it? Does it cost more than the damage to propery or business or individuals or families if greater crimes are commited?
Kicking the can down the road and sticking your fingers in your ears whistling has never seemed to me to be the best clued-up political response to a situation.