Prison Reform Trust Comment on the Jailing of Alfred Ridley
 
Alfred Ridley, a 71 year old retired vicar was jailed today for 28 days for not paying the whole of his council tax. He is refusing, on principle, to pay more than last year’s sum plus inflation.
 
Juliet Lyon said:
 
“No one could say that non payment of council tax is a serious or violent crime. Prison is supposed to be set aside for serious offenders who cannot safely be punished in the community. It is a place of last resort.  But increasingly first time offenders and non-violent criminals are being packed into overcrowded prisons by the courts.
 
Protest and civil disobedience also raise the question of whether campaigners should be able to choose to go to prison to publicise their cause. The average cost of keeping some one in jail for a month is over £3,000. Surely there must have been a cheaper way of dealing with the £63 originally owed.”
 
At the end of last year there were more than 1,700 prisoners over 60. It is one of the fastest growing groups of the population.
 
Juliet Lyon said:
 
“Putting an elderly man into Woodhill, an overcrowded prison that also houses some of the most serious offenders in the system, risks their well-being and risks making the job of the prison officers impossibly complex. Prison for the elderly is a double punishment. They are forced to live in an environment designed for young men that is often hopelessly unsuitable for their health and mobility needs.”
 
 
ENDS