Why short prison sentences in England and Wales are a disaster

THE THREE weeks Liam spent in prison after he rashly opened a can of beer in a shop and swigged from it cost him and the taxpayer vastly more than the £1.90 ($2.40) he had failed to pay. He stole while he was beset by mental-health problems and a failing relationship. Prison made his troubled life worse. Released, he found he had been kicked out of his flat, so had to move away from the relatives and friends on whom he relied. He lacked cash because universal credit, a benefit for those on low incomes, stops during prison sentences (new applications take a month to begin). All this made him feel desperate. Again, he stole a small amount of alcohol. This time, because he was on probation, he got seven weeks. In less than a year he went to prison four times.