Roundup: Britain unveils comprehensive prison reform program

Prison governors in Britain are to be given self-rule powers as part of the largest reform program seen in the country's prison service since the Victorian era, it was announced Wednesday

It will see more than 5,000 inmates housed in six new reform prisons, including one of Europe's largest prisons, HMP Wandsworth

New freedoms will be extended to governors in all key aspects of prison management under a major review by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) which will also see an overhaul of prison education

A prisons bill will be the centerpiece of a new government legislative program focusing on big social reform to extend life chances and opportunity for all.

The country's first trailblazing reform prisons will be in London, the east Midlands and north-east England.

An MoJ spokesman said: "These prisons will give unprecedented freedoms to prison governors, including financial and legal freedoms, such as how the prison budget is spent and whether to opt-out of national contracts; and operational freedoms over education, the prison regime, family visits, and partnerships to provide prison work and rehabilitation services."

"A new regime of transparency will hold governors to account, with comparable statistics to be published for each prison on re-offending, employment rates on release, and violence and self-harm," the spokesman added.

Legislation will enable prisons to be established as independent legal entities with the power to enter into contracts, generate and retain income; and establish their own boards with external expertise.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Today we start the long-overdue, long-needed change that our prisons need. No longer will they be warehouses for criminals; they will now be places where lives are changed."

"These new freedoms sit alongside the government's commitment to replace decrepit, ageing prisons with modern establishments suitable for the needs of prisoners today -- to be built with 1.3 billion pounds (1.88 billion U.S. dollars) of investment."

Justice Secretary Michael Gove said: "Prisons must do more to rehabilitate offenders. We will put governors in charge, giving them the autonomy they need to run prisons in the way they think best."

"By trusting governors to get on with the job, we can make sure prisons are places of education, work and purposeful activity. These reforms will reduce re-offending, cut crime and improve public safety," he added.

In a separate initiative the government said eight police force areas will pilot satellite tracking with tags that track offenders' movements using GPS technology. The pilots will pave the way for the roll-out of the equipment across the country, and lead to new options for the management of offenders and the reduction of re-offending.

The pilots will begin in September in several English provinces. Endit