suzied, you are so right to give the details of the man you know who is in prison of a non violent offences. So called 'white collar' offenders do seem to be heavily punished with custodial sentences when they pose no threat to the public. The fact they've been convicted of say a fraud offence makes it much more difficult for them to perpetuate. They're also likely to respond positively to community punishments like probation or community service.
The talk of building newer, bigger and better prisons is madness. We need to rebuild the good services that probation used to run, to have more prisons where inmates go out to work. A friend of mine was governor at one of the few prisons from which inmates went out to work. In three years there were hardly any men who didn't return after work and the success rate I'm told, was good in the longer term.
My work tended to mean I met many of those prisoners who were ex services, ex care, lower IQ and high levels of illiteracy, along with high levels of drug misuse, violent and chaotic offending patterns. It was always, and I mean always, a poignant first visit when the previously difficult, explosive man would present me with certificates from the various classes he'd been attending. So many women in prison pose no threat at all to society. I'm not saying the shop lifting or benefit fraud is victimless but I am saying the short sentences do nothing to help these woman, often lead to children going into care etc.
We need to be led by our European and Scandinavian neighbours, rather than by the US when seeking to improve the way we deal with offenders. We need effective interventions, not just locking people up, unless of course they pose a risk of violence to others.