... work if used " not as a mechanism for reform or rehabilitation but as a means of incapacitation and punishment that satisfies popular political demands for public safety and harsh retribution" (Garland, 2001, p.14). The Conservatives believed, at this time, that any other reason for using prison simply did not work and that the prospects of reforming offenders are actually much better in the community. The prison population fell under this government from 50,000 to 40,000 (Graef, 2000, p.1). The subsequent Criminal Justice Act of 1991 was similar in its conviction and ordered sentencers to use prison only as a "last resort" and to give reasons as to why it was necessary for "serious offences". However, these orders did not combine well with the British public's primordial love of punishment and required judges, magistrates and ministers to face up to this harsh reality which is so vividly expressed in our ...

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