THE Criminal Justice Alliance systematic demolition of the government’s case for building three US-style huge Titan prisons ought to be grabbed as a lifeline by the government.

It could explain that, after consultation, it has concluded that they would be unnecessary.

And there is substantial evidence to defend such a position, from the superiority of smaller local prisons to the potential dangers to prisoners and staff and the strained relations between prisoners and their families denied regular access because of distance considerations.

Family relationships are not to be disregarded since they affect how prisoners prepare for their eventual release and reintegration into society.

Massive institutions, holding 2,500 prisoners, fully merit the Prison Officers Association description as “filing cabinets for people.”

Their justification is cost-based, with the implication of economies of scale, but their sheer size will encourage an ethos of control rather than rehabilitation.

The main problem in the way of Justice Secretary Jack Straw paying due heed to the alliance letter is that his department’s consultation document took for granted that Titan prisons would be built.

That is the fundamental question that has to be addressed first rather than the consequences of doing so.

The government’s apparently already decided position will be backed by advocates of the simplistic “bang ‘em up and throw away the key” approach that has been shown to be an unmitigated failure.

Record numbers of people are now held in jail, but seeking to stem that wasteful and pointless tide is not a government priority.

It prefers to play to the tabloid gallery by talking tough and imitating the Tories’ “prison works” philosophy of despair rather than opting for an approach that is not only more humane but is more effective in tackling recidivism and bringing down crime figures.

If banging people up for longer, making their prison conditions harder and making no preparations for their release did those things, there might be a case for such a harsh regime, but the opposite is the case.

Experience in Britain, as well as in the more enlightened societies of Scandinavia, shows that treating prisoners as human beings, helping them off drugs and alcohol dependency, assisting their personal development through education and training and providing support on release pays dividends for society.

It is not an easy or a cheap option, but neither is the supposed alternative of locking up offenders with thousands of others in an impersonal and anonymous human warehouse.

New Labour’s underlying failure in the field of criminal justice has been its contempt for professional expertise and its hunger for approval from right-wing media commentators.

It disregards the experience and accumulated wisdom of prison staff, probation officers, criminologists, prison reformers and experts on mental health and drug use, preferring the easy, dishonest rhetoric about putting the interests of victims before those of criminals.

Victims of crime are not helped by greater numbers of offenders being locked up and alienated from society. They, like the rest of us, would benefit from resources being invested in efforts to change offenders’ outlook and behaviour rather than being squandered on Titan prisons that will profit only building corporations and private prison operators.