THE Princess Royal yesterday called for a ''real wage'' to be paid to
prisoners so that they could repay their victims and support their
families.
In a speech to prison officers in Edinburgh, the Princess said:
''Unless we treat prisoners as responsible human beings they will not
respond.''
She said that the prison service had to perform a very difficult
balancing act between security, where custody was part of the
punishment, and the rehabilitation of prisoners.
While many prisoners were being treated by officers as responsible
people, the Princess said that it was a pity that the legal system did
not do the same. ''By that I mean if a person is responsible enough to
stand trial, they can be responsible for their actions.''
She said that meant prisoners paying compensation to their victims or
maintaining their families by earning a real wage from their work in
prison.
The Princess said she knew that the standard of work produced in
prison was certainly worthy of open market values and rewards.
A total of 44 awards was presented to prison officers, prison
chaplains, and social workers from Scotland, England, and Northern
Ireland by the Princess at a ceremony in the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Mr Alan Bishop, Inspector of Prisons in Scotland, who was at the
ceremony, said he would respond to the Princess's suggestions in his
next annual report.
However, Mr Bishop said that if prisoners were to be given a realistic
wage, it could mean that, as well as the victim and family, the taxman
would also want his share. A prisoner might also be asked to pay for bed
and board while he was in custody, and could still end up with the #6 a
week he is now entitled to earn.
Earlier, the Princess Royal took a barge trip on the Union Canal
before opening a #250,000 reception building and dry dock at Ratho for
the Seagull Trust, which provides boat trips for the disabled.
She later opened the Charles Bell Pavilion in Edinburgh, home to the
new Scottish Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service in Astley Ainsley
Hospital.
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