TBI Home Affairs lead Harvey Redgrave said:
“That rapists and burglars are being spared from
jail due to overcrowding in prisons underlines the dire state of
our criminal justice system. Criminals are going unpunished and
undeterred, victims are not receiving the justice they deserve
and prisons continue to be overcrowded and unsafe.
“The government’s unworkable plans to rent prison space overseas
would be a sticking plaster at best. If the recent increase in
police officer numbers leads to a rise in charge rates, then the
courts will not be able to cope. And if the court backlog is
reduced then prisons will not be able to accommodate the increase
in prisoners. We need proper reform including better use of
community orders.
“Short custodial sentences are an expensive and inefficient way
to punish offenders. Creating a new intensive and rigorous ‘work
order’ for those convicted of lower level crimes such as
shoplifting would be more effective, while freeing up space in
prison for those convicted of more serious offences.”
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There is a lack of confidence in existing community orders (COs),
the use of which has more than halved since 2010. Despite being a
more effective means of rehabilitating offenders than short
prison sentences, such orders are perceived overwhelmingly as a
soft option.
The Ministry of Justice should bring forward legislation to
create a distinct new community sentence: a “work order”, which
will be more intensive and rigorous than existing COs, taking up
at least five full days a week and starting within a week of
sentence, with GPS tags to enforce compliance. This will give
policymakers the space to end the use of short custodial
sentences, which are an expensive and inefficient way to punish
offenders.
Harvey Redgrave is the author of ‘A Plan to Reform the Criminal
Justice System’.
He previously served as deputy director in the Prime Minister’s
Strategy Unit, where he led several major strategic reviews on
behalf of a series of UK prime ministers affecting policy reform.
