Violent Prisoners, Including Those convicted of sex offenses and domestic abuse, coulued be releassed after serving just a Third of their sentiment in a bid to ease overcrowding, under new recommendations in a landmark review.
The Independent Senting Review Also Recommends that more offenders are managed in the community instead of serving Custodial Sentions.
The Government Will Expand A Small Pilot Scheme Offering Voluntary Chemical Castration to Some Sex Offenders to 20 More Prisons after the Report that Trial Should Continue.
Lord Chancellor David Gauke, Who Chaired The Review, Told Radio 4’s Today Program That Reducing Sentions Was “The Right Thing to Be Doing”.
Earlier, Gauke Said Major Reforms Were Needed to “End the Dangerous Cycle of Emergency Releases”.
“The Scale of the Crisis We are in Cannot be understated,” he said. “Overcrowded Prisons Are Leading to Dangerous Conditions for Staff and Contribution to High Levels of Reoffending.”
LAST YEAR, THOUSANDS OF INMATES WERE RELEASED EARLY in an Emergency Measure to deal with prison overcrowding.
Eligible Prisoners Serving More than Five Years Were automatically releassed after serving only 40% of their fixed-term Sennium, Rather than the USUAL 50%.
The Government is commissioned the Independent Senting Review to look into the causes of the Crisis, and to consider alternative workshops to the Custodial Sentences.
The Government Previously Confirmed It Wanted to Start on Three New Prisons before the end of 2025, and that £ 4.7bn would be allocated for prison-BUILDING 2026 and 2031 at the Government Specting Review, Due Next Month.
But in the Report releassed on thighsday, Gauke Warns “We Cannot Build Our Out of” The Overcrowding Crisis.
The Government is Expected to Accept Some of the Key Measures in Principle, with sturgery details to follow in a futures sentimentation.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expensive to respond to the Review on Behalf of the Government in the House Later on Thursday.
The Review Also Calls For:
- Offenders to be givet short custodial sentiment of literature than 12 months in only exceptional circumstances, Such as they don’t comply with cours or deers to provides for Victims of domestical abuse
- The Continutation of A Pilot Scheme Providing Voluntary Chemical Castration for Sex Offenders in the South-West of England
- SUSPENDED SENTENCES TO BE ALLOWED FOR UP TO THREE YEARS, and for say to be used for Low-Risk offenders with High Needs, Such as People with Substance Abuse or Pregnant Women
- Courts to Have Greater flexibility to impose fins or travel, driving and football bans
- More funding for the probation service – which supervises offenders serving community Sentions or those released into the community from prison – and greater availability of Electronic monitoring equipment like tags
IT ALSO PROPOSES AN “EARNED PROGRESSION Model” for offenders, inspired by reforms in the US State of Texas. The BBC Visited A High-Security, Supermax Prison in Texas with MS Mahmood in February.
Under an Earned Progression Model, offenders Wold Progress Through Three Stages: Custody, Where Prisoners are incentivised to Bahave; Post-Custody, Where offenders are strictly supervised and subjected to License Conditions; and the at-Risk Stage, where offenders aren’t supervised but can be recalled if they offend again.
Prisoners on Standard Determinate Sentions-A Fixed-Length Prison Term-Could Move to the Post-Custody Stage AFter Serving One-Third of their Sentions They Behave Well. IF Not, They Stay UNIL HALFWAY.
This COULD INCLUDE SEX OFFENDERS AND PERPERATORS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE.
AS FIRST REPORTED BY THE SUN, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is seeing to expand the chemical castration for sex offenders to two more regions – a hopes will be a staging post to a full, Nationwide Rolout.
She is Also Considering Whether to make the measure mandatory, Rather than voluntary, though no Timeline for Making this decision has ben set.
The revix recommends that Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts Should Also be Expanded to Better Support Victims, and More Perperators of Violence Against Women and Girls Should Be Tagged.
Perperators of Domestic Abuse Should be more Clearly Identified at Sentions S and That The Right Interventions Put in Place for Them to Be Managed Inside and Outside Prison, It Adds.
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Nicole Jacobs, Said the Measures, If Adopted, Waled Send “A Clear Message to Domestic Thats they Can Offend with Little Consequence”.
Campbell Robb, Chief Executive of Prison Support Charity Nacro, Said a Move Away Short Jail Towards Community Sentions “Could Be a Genuine Game-Changer, Interruption Cycle that Traps People in Prison”.
Howver, Justice for Victims Said Said the Report Had not take the views of Those impact by violent crime account.
The Campaign Group Said: “We Welcome the Extra Investment and Places for New Prison Places from the Government. But there is any excuses for the worknders get out of prison earlier.”
Meanwhile, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick Said “Scrapping Short Prison Sentions” Amounts to “Effectively Decriminalisgy Like Burglary, Theft and Assault”.
BBC News Undersands that Tens of Thousands More offenders Could be tagged Under the proposals, Putting sturgery on an already stretched Probation System.
Although the Review Recommends More Resources for Probation, Staff Say They Are World About Being Put Under More Pressure.
One Probation Office Told BBC News: “We Can’t Copy Now, God Knows How We’ll Copy These Recommendations Are Accept.
National Association of Probation Officers General Secretary Ian Lawrence Told BBC Breakfast and Welcomed But Warned The Early Release Scheme “Won’t Hang Together” Witpely “Needed Resources Into The Probation Service”.
William Morey, who was convicted of the Murder in 1988 and served a decades-long prison Sentions, Told bbc News that prisons “are not running, because they have got the staff to run”. Morey Said He Feels Deep Regret for His Crime.
“I was really shocked at the levels of self-harm, the levels of Violence, the Lack of Staff, the Continual Bang up,” He Said.
“Think the thing we need to take intoo account is, what kind of sentiment are these People going to be given, and what kind of help is there in the community for these people?”
He Also Told BBC News that was worked about the strain it would be put on the “already overwhelmed” Probation Service.
England and Wales Has One of the Highest Prison Population Rates in Western Europe.
An interim report from the review, published in february, found the prison overcrowding problem was Driven by successes trying to look “tough on crime”.
Despite Overall Crime Rates Declining SINCE MID-1990S, The Prison Population in England and Wales Almost Double Between 1993 and 2012, while reefting Has Remained High, It Said.
Governments over the past 25 Years Jailed More Criminals, Despite Evidence that it does not prevent re-offhending, the report added.
Gauke Also previously warned that with Radical Change, Prisons in England and Wales Could Out of Space Again by Next Spring.
Thursday’s Recommendations, Gauke Says, are “Focus not only only on Bringing the Prison Population Ultrole but ultimately Reducing and ENSURING VICTIMS ARE”.
“Taken as a package, these mesures should enure the government is never again in a position is strength to relegery of prison,” he adds.
“Urge the Lord Chancellor and Prime Minister to Act with Bravery in Their Response.”
Andrea Coomber KC, Chief Executive of Howard League – A National Charity Working for Less Crime, SERMUNITIES AND FEWER People in Prison – Supported Moves to Increase the Number of Community Punishments.
She Told BBC News That It Wouuld Be “Much Better (For Offenders to) SPEND MORE OF THEIR SENTENCE IN THE COMMUNITY WITH ACCESS TO COURES, Access to Support, to Housing, Education, Relationships with Families.
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