Inmates of British prisons with assets should contribute to the costs of their incarceration until those assets are depleted to a set level, using a system similar to that already in place for care homes.
At present, even wealthy prison inmates receive food, board, healthcare and education free-of-charge, even if their wealth is derived from their illegal activity. The Proceeds of Crime Act is infrequently applied, and expensive to enforce. To address this, a simple means-tested fees system would be less bureaucratic and add to the deterrence of prison.
