A FORMER prison governor and star of reality TV show Bring Back Borstal has called for the reinstatement of the tough 1930s regime in 21st Century Britain, saying today’s justice system is failing offenders and society.

Gerry Hendry, who worked in prisons for more than 30 years and is currently appearing on ITV’s Bring Back Borstal, said today’s Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) are doing nothing to set inmates straight and simply “churning people through”.

The former Durham Prison deputy governor called for the abolition of custodial sentences of less than 12 months, as they allow “no time to work” with offenders.

He also wants to see:

* a ramping up of restorative justice schemes, as the current system is no more than “humane containment”;

* an end to prison privatisation, saying any profits possible should be reinvested rather than paid to shareholders;

* more investment in prisons, to reverse year-on-year cuts in officer numbers.

Bring Back Borstal follows a group of young offenders pitched back into the military-style regime of a 1930s borstal for a month to see whether their lives can be turned around.

Mr Hendry, who also worked at Northallerton Prison and Deerbolt YOI, declared the “social experiment” to have been a success and called on the Government to resurrect the system.

He said: “I would like some serious discussion in the criminal justice system. I want politicians to sit up and take notice."

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said crime was falling and fewer young people were entering the criminal justice system, but the department was committed to ensuring offenders get skills, training and support.

Jenny Chapman, the Darlington MP and Labour’s prisons spokeswoman, said not enough was being done to prevent young people offending or change their behaviour once in custody.

Mr Hendry, who retired after serving as governor of HMP Shrewsbury in 2012, said: “I strongly believe in the borstal principles. We’re just churning people through without really tackling re-offending.

“We don’t do restorative justice, we do humane containment in prisons.”

The final episode of Bring Back Borstal, set at Ford Castle, Northumberland, will be screened on ITV1 on Thursday (January 29) at 10.40pm.

Today (Tuesday, January 27), Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons published a damning report on the privately-run HMP Northumberland, leading the Howard League for Penal Reform to label it a “shambles”.