Prisons in England
Listen to the leader of the oppositon and the Prime Minister talking about the state of prisons in England in October 2006.
British English
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And let's look at adult prisons. Will the Prime minister confirm that we've run out of prison places, last year they scrapped prison ships and now they're bringing them back, and police officers are being taken off the streets to become jailers. Who is responsible for this complete failure of planning?
Now, as for the places in adult prisons, we've expanded those dramatically, we have, of course, toughened up the sentences, he, of course, voted against those measures to toughen up the sentences, and it's true we're gonna have to expand them even more.
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I think the Prime Minister lives on another planet. After nine years, there are no custodial places there for young people. Secure units are completely overcrowded and 
First of all, before he leaves the youth justice system, the best way of testing it is the National Audit Office reports that I've done consistently honour.
| the Youth Justice Board warned of melt-down | |
| Meaning | Melt-down here means a disastrous situation. The word is normally used to describe the overheating of a nuclear reactor. |
| Examples | He is often very anxious about failing or making mistakes and pushing him too hard will just cause a melt down. |
| Particle | The particle down sometimes means failure. |
| we've run out of prison places | |
| Meaning | There are no more places left in prisons. |
| Examples | My exam's on Friday, and I'm running out of time to revise. |
| Particle | The particle out means finished |
| now they're bringing them back | |
| Meaning | They've changed their mind and have decided to use them again. |
| Examples | The governor also wants to bring back capital punishment. |
| Particle | The particle back means again |
| police officers are being taken off the streets | |
| Meaning | More police officers are working in prisons and as a result there are fewer police officers on the streets. |
| Examples | We would demand that justice be done and that these people be taken off the streets! |
| Particle | The particle off means removing |
| I just point out to him again | |
| Meaning | Remind him again of someting important |
| Examples | Many countries and organizations were quick to point out that the deal was not as good as it sounded. |
| Particle | The particle out sometimes means finding information. Find out, check out work in the same way. |
| toughened up the sentences | |
| Meaning | Make the sentences stiffer |
| Examples | He needs to toughen up and be a man. |
| Particle | This is an example of the particle up being used with no extra meaning. It kind of emphasizes the meaning of the verb. |