Inspector of Prisons Judge Michael Reilly has called for an end to the imprisonment of people who commit low level crimes.
Speaking at a human rights conference in Dublin this lunchtime Judge Michael Reilly said all types of non-custodial options should be considered for those involved in less serious crime.
Judge Reilly said the Irish prison population had increased by 44.5% from 2008 to this year and this had not made society any safer.
He said the justice system needed to look at other ways to deal with those who commit crimes like disorderly conduct, stealing personal property or graffiti.
Judge Reilly said he would be in favour of Problem Solving Courts which are non-adversarial, address the reasons for the crime and divert people away from petty crimes.
He said these courts were currently in use in the US, England and New Zealand and had resulted in a marked decrease in low level crime.
Addressing the 9th annual Irish Human Rights Commission and Law Society of Ireland conference, Judge Reilly called on all those working in the justice system to change their work practice and introduce such initiatives to reduce prison overcrowding.
On a separate point, Judge Reilly also said that best practice in the investigation of deaths in prison had not been followed to date.
He said the Irish Prison Service had recently established an independent body to investigate deaths.
Judge Reilly also criticised the disciplinary practice of withdrawing what are described as 'privileges' from prisoners, such as family visits or recreation time.
He said these are not 'privileges' but are in fact 'rights' and should not be taken from prisoners without just cause and due process.
Judge Reilly also said that a proper complaints system for prisoners was absolutely essential and is one of the benchmarks against which any prison system should be judged.
Judge Reilly is currently working on a report on how a prisoner compaints model could be introduced in Ireland.
