There’s nothing quite like the timing of the commentators curse. Listening to the co-commentator of a major sporting event last weekend I was struck by the number of times he fell foul of that particular parlance.
Indeed, if you took the expressions ‘on this occasion’ and ‘it has to be said’ out of his contribution there would be very little left. This reminded me that across every facet of life people do and say the same things time and time again. We really can be creatures of habit.
This is also true of our emotions. We consistently react with the same emotion to a particular occurrence or encounter in our lives, reverting to a recognised default position be that happiness, anger, compassion, disgust, love, fear or sadness. This can be a very difficult habit to break.
How we react to life circumstances forms our character and can influence our happiness and success. A couple of years ago I bumped into the back of another car in heavy traffic and when the man in front got out, he didn’t look at the damage but simply asked if I was OK, said it was a low impact accident, and wished me well as he departed.
Naturally surprised, I commented on his kindness but he simply said he was having a good day, he wasn’t going to let anything change that, and asked me to pass on his act of kindness to someone else. His reaction to that situation has never left me.
This ability to manage, adapt and influence your personal emotions when dealing with others is a reflection of not only an important life skill but it sets real leaders apart from the others within the business environment. Where emotional intelligence, be it through direct engagement or indirect sentiment, becomes much more difficult is dealing with those that we perceive to have slighted us or society.
I believe prisons and prisoners present all of us in society with a particular challenge. It is very difficult not revert to our default position when considering those that have committed crimes, particularly major ones. But prisons have been failing both prisoners and society for a long time with almost half re-offending within a year of release and the UK having the largest prison population in Western Europe.
Michael Howard’s mantra of the 1990s that ‘prison works’ is categorically wrong. Results the world over bear this out. Rehabilitation works and it must be based on respect, mutual respect. Do you respect anyone that doesn’t respect you? That mutual basis is the same for the rehabilitation of prisoners.
Texas, historically a very conservative state, has had a Republican-led review of crime and punishment which is gaining traction across the US, reversing the mass imprisonment policy that had been in place since the Reagan era. The refocus on reform and rehabilitation was borne out of financial necessity as opposed to a sudden alignment of political ideology but it is based on supporting and helping prisoners.
Norway’s Bastoy prison island in the middle of the Oslofjord has taken reform and rehabilitation to another level. Prison on the island is more like being part of a community. There’s training, education, autonomy for daily life, prisoners earn, manage budgets and get used to living as they would when they are released.
Many people believe that this is not paying a debt to society but is the loss of someone’s freedom not enough? But the figures speak for themselves - the prison has the lowest reoffending rate in Europe at just 16 per cent.
I’m not advocating a Bastoy system for our society, for convicted criminals - particularly dangerous offenders - need to pay their debt to society in a secure environment. However, prison isn’t always the answer, and when it is we need to get the right balance of punishment, loss of liberty, reform and rehabilitation.
The Texas approach is pragmatic. It not only recognises that prisons can no longer be dumping grounds for prisoners but it has a strategy in place to address the common challenges that they face. Breaking drug habits, treating mental health, addressing alcoholism empowers prisoners’ to better deal with their everyday challenges when they re-enter society and means they are less likely to re-offend leading to safer communities.
Here in the north, Maghaberry is again under the spotlight with reports that prisoners are being held in solitary confinement for 100 days despite the United Nations inspectors calling for a worldwide ban on more than 15 days.
Masters of our own destiny, we must address the many issues within our prisons but most pertinently change the culture, consider alternatives to prison and ensure delivery on the rehabilitation and reform outlined in the Owers report.
Following the Director General of the Prison Service’s recent announcement that she is stepping down, renewed impetus is needed to ensure we deliver the double whammy of reducing re-offending and re-introducing people back into our society, who have paid their debt and who feel they have a positive contribution to make.
:: Claire Aiken is managing director of Belfast- and Dublin-based public relations and public affairs company Aiken
:: Next week: Brendan Mulgrew
