Where next for sentencing policy?
5 min read
Our prisons are at operational breaking point and will be a priority for the new Government.
Labour’s manifesto said they will continue to build more prisons. The question is whether this is to replace old crumbling prisons with new, more humane ones, or whether the intention is to continue a policy of sending more and more people to prison. Our prison population is already the highest in Western Europe. As of 9th February 2024, it was nearly 88,000 and predicted to rise a further 17,000 by 2026. We have more life sentence prisoners than nearly all of the 53 countries in the Council of Europe, second only to Turkey. Are we somehow more criminal in nature than other countries? Or has something gone drastically wrong with our sentencing policy over the last two decades?
Prison sentences in England and Wales have been getting longer. In 2010, the average prison sentence was 13.7 months. By 2022, it was 56 per cent higher at 21.4 months. All this is because successive Governments have been gradually increasing the minimum and maximum lengths of sentences and delaying release dates for various categories of prisoner. The defence is always that this is necessary to protect the public and to punish offenders more severely, thereby ‘maintaining public confidence in the criminal justice system.’ But are the public really more confident in a criminal justice system which imposes longer prison sentences and are they, in any event, sufficiently informed about sentencing for any Government to rely on this as a basis for continuing to increase the size of our prison estate?
The truth is that the public believe sentences are much softer than they actually are. They also think that long sentences help to prevent crime in society. However, there is no link between the length of sentences and levels of crime and long sentences of imprisonment may in fact increase reoffending. As the Labour manifesto accurately puts it, “…prisons are a breeding ground for more crime”. Overall, 38 per cent of adults leaving prison reoffend within 12 months and this figure rises to 57 per cent for those serving less than 12 months. Victims of crime do not get closure if the offender reoffends when released, and most prisoners will be released at some point. So, victims, and all of us as taxpayers who are paying around £47,000 per prisoner per year, have a strong interest in seeing offenders not just punished, but also rehabilitated.
What then do we need to do? We need smarter sentencing which locks up dangerous people as long as necessary but makes greater use of non-custodial options. 58 per cent of those sent to prison in the year to June 2023 had committed a non-violent offence. They are in prison because of bad choices, yes, but those were often the result of poor mental health, drug addiction, dis-functional backgrounds etc. Many of these prisoners should never have been sent to prison in the first place, especially if it is a sentence of less than 12 months when these are so ineffective at reducing reoffending.
We need to use effective community sentences more. Community sentences have more than halved in the last decade and yet they are not mentioned in the Government’s manifesto. If Labour are not convinced that community sentences work, then they should look at the Dutch example. The Dutch have reduced their prison population from 48,000 in 2007 to around 11,000 today. How have they achieved this?
The Dutch have reduced their prison population from 48,000 in 2007 to around 11,000 today.
A recent visit there by the CEOs of the Prison Reform Trust and the Howard League, led by the Bishop of Gloucester, identified three significant factors. First, there is less political interference in Dutch sentencing than in the UK, meaning that sentencing policy is not driven by media hysteria about a minority of hard cases. Secondly, the overall length of prison sentences is much shorter than in the UK, with more emphasis on safe integration back into the community. Thirdly, the Dutch manage to divert many offenders away from their criminal justice system by intervening at the initial arrest and prosecution stage with multi-disciplinary teams to examine a range of non-custodial disposals.
Back to reality here in the UK. The Prison Governor’s Association recently warned that our prisons are nearly full. As a result, offenders who had committed offences like aggravated burglary, assault, GBH and domestic violence were being released early by the last Government. There are rumours that to deal with the current crisis, the new Government will reduce the early release point for some prisoners from 50 per cent to 40 per cent. If so, it must be accompanied by vigorous risk assessments and tailored licence conditions which correspond with the risks involved.
Building more prisons to improve conditions is welcome, but not if the purpose is to go on increasing our prison population at vast public cost and with a tragic waste of human lives. It will not reduce reoffending. ‘Maintaining public confidence’ is crucial but should not used merely as a pretext for politicians wanting to appear tough on crime. Labour’s manifesto promise to carry out a review of sentencing is very welcome news and the appointment as Prisons Minister of James Timpson, with his deep understanding of prisons issues and commitment to reform, is an inspired first step. The Government’s big majority means it can and must be bold in focusing on ‘what works’ and demonstrating it to the public.
Lord Harry Carter of Haslemere is a cross-bench peer, former Government legal adviser, a Trustee of the Prison Reform Trust and a legal consultant at law firm Kingsley Napley
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