The Adventure Begins

What lies within this website is born of conviction and faith. It is absurd, audacious and wonderful. A reflection of humanity at its best finally taking responsibility for the worst.

How we deal with people within our society who behave badly is the one true mark of civilisation. A regime of hatred and revenge breeds hatred and revenge. It is time for a new way behave to those who do not know how to behave. It is time to accept that crime is not the criminal. The criminal is a victim of crime as much as the slaughter of the innocent. Fairscape is radical. Fairscape is obvious. Fairscape is the unquestioned future.

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What We've Got Now

But they, like the public, realise that crime and criminals are very important national concerns. People are more afraid of criminal activity than ever before. What the public would love to hear is a comprehensive, working system of criminal rehabilitation that works.
Fairscape is not reform but revolution. Reformers have been supporting worthwhile procedures in prisons for years but the same fundamental system remains. In fact, rehabilitation and prison punishment have opposing aims. One side is seen as being easy on criminals, the other as being too hard. The consequences of this disagreement is disastrous for the victims of criminals and the public. Those same criminals commit crimes again and again.

The prison system in the UK, certainly in England, is about a thousand years old. Introduced by the newly victorious, invading Normans, it replaced the Anglo-Saxon preference for fines and confiscation of property. Of course, the rest of the world has used prisons for millennia. Dungeons, jails and various methods of incarceration have been cited since the beginning of civilization.

When one considers the severity of treatment in those ancient and medieval jails and then tries to apply the logic that punishment was meant to deter, one would have to be astonished that crime was not eliminated centuries ago. It has not, and we have to accept the collective failure of our own generation and that of our forbears.

No one likes crime and no one likes paying for prisons. The current UK total is over 85,000 inmates and rising. That is a lot of money the government could spend on better things. It can hardly be believed, but for the cost of every inmate in a UK prison, two people could be sent to Eton College school. It sometimes seems that we send people to prison out of frustration rather than any considered logical construct that would attempt to rid that criminal of crime.

Prisons do very little except prevent criminals committing crime whilst they are in prison. Tragically sometimes even that is not true. When prisoners are released 6 out of every 10 of them commit more crime within two years.

"Currently more than 58 per cent of prisoners are reconvicted within two years of being released. Research indicates that factors associated with re-offending include poor reasoning and thinking skills, drugs misuse and low areas of literacy and numeracy." A recent HM Prisons report This is, perhaps, the most disgraceful failing in the present system of dealing with criminals.

How it Works: Sentencing

This astonishing utterance from a judge may sound baffling but is the future of all criminal incarcerations.

This means quite simply that a convicted prisoner will go directly to the Fairscape site - in this case Area 3. The police and the court's responsibilities would be exactly the same as before. The court will sentence, as it has always done, according to the severity of the crime. This has been a number of months or years. In the case of the Fairscape system a number between 1 and 7 will be handed down by the judge. What the prisoner has to do is work his way through to Area 1 and release.

In the the above example the prisoner would have to work his way through Area 3, then Area 2, then arrive at Area 1. Then he would be eligible for release. His progress through each area would depend on his remorse, cooperation and determination to be crime free, but a very rough estimate would be around two years for each area. Therefore an Area 3 sentence would be the rough equivalent of a six year sentence.

The following is a diagrammatic ariel view of the Fairscape site. It is not exact in any way but the principle is clear. Of course, if the progress is impeded by a lack of will or non-cooperation then the prisoner may be sent backwards to a higher area and be expected to work to release from that area. In our example if the prisoner did not cooperate with the Fairscape program he would be eventually placed in area 4 thereby extending his stay by as much as two years.The notional 'area 0' is, of course, society at large.

How it Works: Processing
Some may think of it as a video game. If it helps, think of it that way.

The principle is simple. A prisoner enters at one particular area - let us say, Area 3. The initial processing is to access whether he has a drug or substance abuse problem. If so a program to get him free of the drugs will begin immediately.

When he is physically and mentally able he will embark on up to five different programs. There are no exceptions except physical disability. The mandatory activities vary according to the area that receives the prisoner.

1	Physical health program - this can be anything to gym work, sports or to regular walking.
2	Education program - this can be anything from simple 'catch up' school work to diplomas and degrees.
3	Peer group sessions - staff moderated peer group session dealing with the reasons and attractions of law breaking and other related topics.
4	Staff sessions - this can range from personal coaching to psychological examinations.
5	Victim contact program - the prisoner will be expected to deal with regular contact from his victim.

The prisoner will be aware that there is always movement. For most inmates the progress will be towards the release position in Area 1.

Each area is graded according to the severity of the crime. Exact projected figures are difficult to conjure but the following table illustrates the approximate inmate populations for each area given the current prison population. This assumes a total population of 80,000.

AREA	TOTAL	TYPE OF PRISONER
1	40,000	Very trusted inmates in final stages of rehabilitation
2	19,200	Minor crimes and trusted inmates making good progress
3	9,600	Criminals of average seriousness with good prospects
4	6,400	Serious crimes but with manageable social implications
5	4,000	Serious crimes with serious social implications
6	800	Very serious, problematic and violent criminals
7	40	Celebrity crimes beyond the pale **

** AREA 7 This, of course, holds the worst and most notorious celebrity criminals, some with little hope of ever being released. Without support from victims and the general public little can be done with them. Their prospects look grim with little more than the most basic of pleasures.

The following chart is based on the crimes committed by the current population of prisoners in the UK. Source: Home Office, UK Government 2008/9.

How it Works: Release
This is the core difference between Fairscape and all other incarceration establishments.

Release from Fairscape is simple. Get permission from five agencies and you are free. There is no time limit. If you get all permissions in one month, then well done. However, some people will struggle. Some will be fighting for years. The point is that all five agencies have a individual interest in the well being of prisoners and their ability to operate in a free society without committing crime.

Check Number One: The State
(politicians, public opinion, the government)

This is not very different from the current state of affairs. Always, in the case of prisoners, the state, which represents public opinion, has a direct veto on all prisoner releases. The state cannot over-rule the other four agencies to release the prisoner. It has to be said that for almost all occasions the state will have no interest in the release of individual prisoners.

Check Number Two: The Fairscape Staff
(all staff reports of the prisoner)

When the staff, or a certified board of staff, deem that in their professional opinion the prisoner will not commit further crimes, they can give their permission for release.

Check Number Three: Prisoner Peer Group
(an appointed group known to the prisoner)

This would seem an unlikely source of release permission but it is a part of the rehabilitation of all prisoners. It is their job to be utterly realistic about their chances of a crime free life and also a chance to have power over their own destinies. If they recommend release in the face of three or four other agencies denial then they will be seen as irresponsible. Besides, names are attached to peer group recommendations for release, therefore if a prisoner is released and quickly commits further crime then all members of the peer group will be responsible and consequently do harm to their own reputations upon which their release depends.

Check Number Four: The Victim
(or a representative or a relative of the victim)

For the first time the victim will have a direct and lawful veto on the release of the prisoner that harmed them or their loved one. However, in many cases the victim will be approached and declare no interest in the prisoner's release. But certainly on crimes to the person, many victims would like to see remorse and a determination on the part of the prisoner to go straight. This process is as much about the victim as it is about the prisoner. Victims have been almost forgotten in the debate about prisons and crime. Now they have a direct and powerful voice.

Check Number Five: The Prisoner

This looks at first to be absurd. The whole point of this check is to have on record that the prisoner declares that he will commit no more crime. If he fails his reputation will be seriously tarnished and his second progress through the Fairscape Areas will be much more circumspect. It is hoped that many more prisoners will become more responsible as their time at Fairscape continues and take very seriously their declaration of this check.

How Much Does it Cost?

Strange but true. The whole Fairscape project from building to operation won't cost the government or the taxpayer a thing.

Conventional prisons will be obsolete. They take up a huge amount of land - much of it prime urban land worth billions.. All these properties with their land, (over 140 prisons in England and Wales), would be sold to finance the building of the single Fairscape site. This financing would be completed in stages underwritten by the government and associated banks.

A single site would be found to erect the Fairscape complex that can accommodate up to 200,000 people - prisoners and staff. If we accept that Areas 1 and 2 - possibly 3 have approximately 60,000 men and some women then this provides a valuable workforce.

By putting to work all those people in manufacturing and services then then not only would it provide a valuable rehabilitation element but if the products and services were sold at market prices most of the revenue would cover the costs of the Fairscape complex. The prisoners would receive food and accommodation. Where applicable recreational activities would be provided.

Area 1 would have low security as these prisoners would be the most trusted and ready for release. There would be shops, offices, playing fields, factories, cars, busses, in fact the type of urban landscape found in any city. The amount of staff intrusion would be a minimum except in the case of regressive behaviour.

The mid area of 4 would have a good deal of staff intervention. Also peer group meetings would be frequent. Education and fitness programs would be mandatory.

Conversely Area 7 would be the highest security with little or no recreational activity. Prisoners here would do no work. Staff would be at hand but mostly for maintaining the status of each prisoner. However, it might be possible in exceptional circumstances that a prisoner might work his way from Area 7 to Area 6.