At the heart of his book is his conclusion that prison simply does not work, failing on three fundamental levels. The view of the popular media is that when prisoners are locked up they cannot commit crime. This is not true. Podmore shows how crime actually proliferates in prison, how serious organised crime is allowed to flourish there through bad management, and how the UK's prisons are a multi-million pound investment bank for the black economy. The public sees prison as a deterrent. This book shows that whilst it may deter the white, middle classes, for the majority of those behind bars it is merely a social tax, or as Norman Stanley Fletcher was told in Porridge, 'an occupational hazard'. It shows that for many across the spectrum of social exclusion it is a place of safety and preferable to life on the streets. Also, whatever spin is put on the figures it is clear that the majority of those leaving prison will quickly reoffend. OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND is a remarkable book that seeks to ignite a debate across society about a vital subject we ignore at our peril.
