According to the Guardian the Home Office is considering to offer the public a chance to purchase shares in new prisons under a "buy to let" scheme. The Treasury has refused to find extra funding to sort out the prisons crisis and that has led John Reid resorting to such extreme measures.
The government has to get its priorities right. Law and order needs to be on top of the agenda. Safe and stable society allows an environment where people can go about their daily lives without constant fear and disruption. Instead of giving more money to prisons, the government has decided to spend a billion pounds (over the next four years) on buying a new fleet of greener cars. £1 billion would go a long way in stabilising the current prison problem.