Criminals facing short jail sentences will be spared prison under measures to be announced next week to combat the overcrowding crisis.
On Monday, Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, is expected to set out “reforms” that aim to slash the number of offenders sent to jail for less than six months or possibly less than 12 months.
Judges and magistrates will operate under a “presumption” that criminals such as thieves and shoplifters facing shorter jail terms should instead be handed “robust” community sentences designed to rehabilitate them. Anyone guilty of sexual or violent offences will be excluded from the scheme.
They are similar to proposals by former justice secretary David Gauke four years ago who argued for the abolition of six-month sentences. They were ditched by Boris Johnson when he became prime minister in 2019.
Mr Chalk is also expected to announce plans for the early release of hundreds of prisoners to avoid jails overflowing. Offenders assessed as “low risk” will be freed around two weeks before their automatic release date under licence.
On Friday, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures are expected to show that the number of prisoners is at its highest on record, surpassing the previous peak of 88,179 in December 2011 and leaving fewer than 600 spare places across jails in England and Wales. In male prisons, there are fewer than 200 left.
On Thursday, Mr Chalk briefed criminal justice officials that the changes would be “meaningful, credible and make a difference”.
“It is not just about short-term firefighting but is designed to stabilise things in the longer term to ensure those more serious criminals can be locked up for longer,” said a source.
However, ministers are braced for a backlash from some Tory MPs and campaigners who will see the plans as “soft justice” and a threat to the party’s law and order message in the run-up to next year’s election.
It is understood the plans have been backed by Rishi Sunak, who has accepted that the growth in the jail population is unsustainable and that overcrowded jails prevent rehabilitation.
Ministers will argue the changes are necessary to ensure that the worst criminals can be locked up for longer. The average length of a prison sentence has increased by a third in the last decade as successive Governments have introduced tougher penalties.
The prison population is expected to rise to 94,400 by March 2025 and up to 106,300 by March 2027 but plans for three new mega-jails have been blocked by planning objections, threatening efforts to increase capacity by 20,000 places by the mid-2020s as originally promised.
Sources said the MoJ had been working on the reforms before the overcrowding crisis erupted, based on research that reoffending rates could be substantially reduced if more offenders jailed for under six months were given community orders.
The studies suggested that if all offenders who received prison sentences of less than six months were given a community order, there would be around 32,000, or 13 per cent fewer proven reoffences a year.
Alternatives to custody include curfews, exclusion orders and GPS tags to reduce the chances of criminals released into the community from reoffending.
The last time prisons in England and Wales ran out of space was in 2007 when then justice secretary Jack Straw authorised an early release scheme that saw 36,000 prisoners freed before they had completed their sentences.
Mr Chalk is expected to limit it to “hundreds” of prisoners, excluding any convicted for violent, sexual or terrorist offences. It will be restricted to those assessed as “low” risk who will be freed between two and three weeks before their scheduled release date.
That’s what you get if you have a long period with no investment, austerity and incompetent leadership.
Thank god I have not been supporting them as I would feel a right muppet now when it is becoming apparent to even the most imbecilic what an appalling job they have done.
And who’s going to supervise all these extra community sentences?
>shoplifters facing shorter jail terms should instead be
handed “robust” community sentences designed to
rehabilitate them.
Any shoplifter getting a jail sentence has already been through all of the rehabilitative community options available and hasn’t engaged with the help on offer.
Lol the tories could not fuck us harder if they wanted to
What an embarrassment. We’ll happily let anyone in, but can’t lock criminals away. Need to start deporting all foreign born criminals in prisons to free up space and money and actually spend money keeping the population safe.
Conservative Party have just lost another good chunk of their core voters. I can seriously see the libs being the next official opposition.
Allowing crime to run rampant is a known tactic as a precursor to fascism. When people are anxious and afraid they are much more likely to defer to an authoritarian leader, regardless of their prior political beliefs. Fascism exploits this phenomenon.
How many weeks do you get for accidentally killing someone with your car. Asking for a friend, obviously.
I’m seriously considering becoming a career criminal, get to make my own hours, good money, no tax. Easy life
Rapists are avoiding jail now because they are full.
So what crimes can I commit which have sentences under six months?
The Telegraph and moaning about problems their party of choice created, name a more classic duo.
13 comments
***An exclusive from The Telegraph:***
Criminals facing short jail sentences will be spared prison under measures to be announced next week to combat the overcrowding crisis.
On Monday, Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, is expected to set out “reforms” that aim to slash the number of offenders sent to jail for less than six months or possibly less than 12 months.
Judges and magistrates will operate under a “presumption” that criminals such as thieves and shoplifters facing shorter jail terms should instead be handed “robust” community sentences designed to rehabilitate them. Anyone guilty of sexual or violent offences will be excluded from the scheme.
They are similar to proposals by former justice secretary David Gauke four years ago who argued for the abolition of six-month sentences. They were ditched by Boris Johnson when he became prime minister in 2019.
Mr Chalk is also expected to announce plans for the early release of hundreds of prisoners to avoid jails overflowing. Offenders assessed as “low risk” will be freed around two weeks before their automatic release date under licence.
On Friday, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures are expected to show that the number of prisoners is at its highest on record, surpassing the previous peak of 88,179 in December 2011 and leaving fewer than 600 spare places across jails in England and Wales. In male prisons, there are fewer than 200 left.
On Thursday, Mr Chalk briefed criminal justice officials that the changes would be “meaningful, credible and make a difference”.
“It is not just about short-term firefighting but is designed to stabilise things in the longer term to ensure those more serious criminals can be locked up for longer,” said a source.
However, ministers are braced for a backlash from some Tory MPs and campaigners who will see the plans as “soft justice” and a threat to the party’s law and order message in the run-up to next year’s election.
It is understood the plans have been backed by Rishi Sunak, who has accepted that the growth in the jail population is unsustainable and that overcrowded jails prevent rehabilitation.
Ministers will argue the changes are necessary to ensure that the worst criminals can be locked up for longer. The average length of a prison sentence has increased by a third in the last decade as successive Governments have introduced tougher penalties.
The prison population is expected to rise to 94,400 by March 2025 and up to 106,300 by March 2027 but plans for three new mega-jails have been blocked by planning objections, threatening efforts to increase capacity by 20,000 places by the mid-2020s as originally promised.
Sources said the MoJ had been working on the reforms before the overcrowding crisis erupted, based on research that reoffending rates could be substantially reduced if more offenders jailed for under six months were given community orders.
The studies suggested that if all offenders who received prison sentences of less than six months were given a community order, there would be around 32,000, or 13 per cent fewer proven reoffences a year.
Alternatives to custody include curfews, exclusion orders and GPS tags to reduce the chances of criminals released into the community from reoffending.
The last time prisons in England and Wales ran out of space was in 2007 when then justice secretary Jack Straw authorised an early release scheme that saw 36,000 prisoners freed before they had completed their sentences.
Mr Chalk is expected to limit it to “hundreds” of prisoners, excluding any convicted for violent, sexual or terrorist offences. It will be restricted to those assessed as “low” risk who will be freed between two and three weeks before their scheduled release date.
**Read in full on site: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/12/criminals-sentences-under-six-months-spared-prison/**
That’s what you get if you have a long period with no investment, austerity and incompetent leadership.
Thank god I have not been supporting them as I would feel a right muppet now when it is becoming apparent to even the most imbecilic what an appalling job they have done.
And who’s going to supervise all these extra community sentences?
>shoplifters facing shorter jail terms should instead be
handed “robust” community sentences designed to
rehabilitate them.
Any shoplifter getting a jail sentence has already been through all of the rehabilitative community options available and hasn’t engaged with the help on offer.
Lol the tories could not fuck us harder if they wanted to
What an embarrassment. We’ll happily let anyone in, but can’t lock criminals away. Need to start deporting all foreign born criminals in prisons to free up space and money and actually spend money keeping the population safe.
Conservative Party have just lost another good chunk of their core voters. I can seriously see the libs being the next official opposition.
Allowing crime to run rampant is a known tactic as a precursor to fascism. When people are anxious and afraid they are much more likely to defer to an authoritarian leader, regardless of their prior political beliefs. Fascism exploits this phenomenon.
How many weeks do you get for accidentally killing someone with your car. Asking for a friend, obviously.
I’m seriously considering becoming a career criminal, get to make my own hours, good money, no tax. Easy life
Rapists are avoiding jail now because they are full.
So what crimes can I commit which have sentences under six months?
The Telegraph and moaning about problems their party of choice created, name a more classic duo.