Should shorter prison sentences be scrapped?
Justice Secretary says six-month terms or less are ‘ineffective’ in preventing crime
Short prison sentences are ineffective at preventing crime and should be scrapped, the justice secretary has said.
David Gauke told delegates at the Reform Society that the UK had one of the highest rates of imprisonment in western Europe, while rising average terms handed out by courts in England and Wales had seen the prison population double over the past thirty years to 83,000.
This has not been helped by a hardline government crime policy, which includes “increasing jail sentences for many offences in recent years, introducing mandatory imprisonment for people caught carrying a knife twice and introducing several new terror offences with 15-year sentences last week”, says The Independent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
With Britain’s antiquated prison system at breaking point and violence and self-harm at record highs, inspectors have warned of dire conditions and failures to rehabilitate inmates.
Figures from the Ministry of Justice reveal that of the 250,000 prisoners handed a six-month sentence or less over the past five years, almost two thirds reoffended within a year.
Calling for a “national debate on about what justice, including punishment, should look like for our modern times”, Gauke recommended a shift away from shorter custodial sentences towards more “robust” community orders for minor offences.
He also talked up the use of new technologies such as GPS tagging as a more effective means of restricting, punishing and ultimately rehabilitating offenders in the community.
He said there was a “very strong case” for abolishing prison terms of six months in all but exceptional cases, “a plan that goes further than any previous Government minister and beyond the Scottish model where there is 'presumption' against shorter sentences”, says The Daily Telegraph.
“It is a bold step for a Conservative minister to propose a measure knowing some in his party will criticise him for being 'soft' on criminals,” says BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw, “but after 13 months in the post Mr Gauke clearly feels he has the evidence to back up his case and the authority to carry it through.”
He will have been further strengthened by a YouGov poll published earlier this month that revealed 73% of Labour MPs backed the changes, while 60% of Conservatives also favoured shorter jail terms.
Unsurprisingly, however, the call to scrap six month sentences has been met with considerable opposition.
The Daily Express says the “move would see around 30,000 dangerous criminals who commit offences including theft, assault and burglary, spared jail”.
Critics of the changes have also warned of the increased strain enforcing community orders could place on an already stretched police force which has seen the total number of officers in England and Wales cut by 20,000 since 2010.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Musk's reliance on China draws rising scrutiny'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biba: the story of a 'legendary emporium'
The Week Recommends Brand's 60th anniversary is being marked with retrospective celebrating the 'iconic shop's cultural importance'
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
How the Russia-Ukraine conflict has spread to Africa
The Explainer Ukraine is attempting to strengthen its alliances on the continent to counter Russia's growing presence
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Armed gangs, prison breaks and on-air hostages: how Ecuador was plunged into crisis
The Explainer Gangs launch deadly revenge after president declares state of emergency following escape of feared drug boss from prison
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The most famous prison breaks of all time
The Explainer Many people have escaped from behind bars over the decades
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Daniel Khalife escape: how secure are UK prisons?
Today's Big Question MPs and experts blame austerity cuts for chronic understaffing, overcrowding and inexperienced guards
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
Daniel Abed Khalife: how did terror suspect escape from Wandsworth prison?
Today's Big Question ‘Gob-smacking’ events raise urgent questions about state of UK’s criminal justice system
By Julia O'Driscoll Published
-
Andrew Malkinson: why cleared inmates have to pay back prisons from compensation
feature Cost of ‘bed and board’ in jail may be deducted from payouts for wrongful imprisonments
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet Published
-
Colin Pitchfork: justice secretary attempts to halt killer’s release
Speed Read The double child-murderer has been in and out of prison following a series of parole decisions
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
What is going on in women’s prisons?
feature Inmate numbers and self-harm cases are rising despite government pledge to improve conditions
By The Week Staff Published
-
Inside FCI Tallahassee: the low-security prison where Ghislaine Maxwell can ‘teach yoga and bake’
In Depth Former socialite convicted of trafficking underage girls not eligible for release until 2037
By The Week Staff Published