Biggest reset of prisons in 30 years as plans call for MAJOR jail time change

Tens of thousands more criminals will be punished outside of jail under major plans to reset the prison system.

Keir Starmer has been warned he must “act with bravery” after years of political demands to be “tough on crime” have resulted in a huge overcrowding crisis in prisons.

Former Tory Justice Secretary David Gauke, who has today published a major sentencing review, said the “scale of the crisis we are in cannot be understated”. His review calls for a series of politically difficult decisions in the biggest shake-up of sentencing in more than 30 years.

In his more than 200-page report, Mr Gauke laid out the urgent need for change, not only to stop prisons reaching full capacity again, but to reduce crime and the number of victims affected. His proposals - if accepted by ministers - would see the projected prison population for 2028 come down by 9,800 inmates. It currently stands at more than 88,000.

Among the most significant recommendations, the review recommends letting out some offenders early for good behaviour and scrapping the use of sentences under 12 months, bar exceptional cases such as when a domestic abuse victim needs protection.

It also urges for greater use of technology, like electronic tagging, to monitor offenders in the community and action to support criminals whose offending is driven by drugs, alcohol or mental illness. And judges should hand out more punishments outside of jail, it said, such as football, travel or driving bans. Restrictions on an offenders’ access to social media should also be considered.

The review also called for more evidence to be gathered on chemical castration for rapists and paedophiles - a drug treatment that reduces hormone levels to curb libido, which is already being piloted in England.

Victims must also receive more transparent, consistent and well timed information about how an offender passes through the criminal justice system, it said.

A key system change backed by Mr Gauke is for an “earned progression” model, inspired by prisons in Texas, to be introduced. It would see inmates on standard sentences of up to four years released after serving a third of their time inside if they behave well.

For the next third of their sentence, offenders would be strictly supervised in the community. The review suggests different levels of supervision depending on the risk of each criminal so the probation service - which manages offenders in the community - can focus on those who most need it. Electronic tag monitoring, curfews and access to drug or alcohol treatment are recommended.

There would be no active supervision for the final third of their sentence but the offender would be able to be recalled to jail if they committed a new offence.

Offenders serving a standard sentence of more than four years would move to the community supervision stage after serving 50% of their time inside, or later if they misbehave. They would also remain under active supervision until 80% of their sentence is complete.

The Government welcomed the review’s final report but immediately rejected a separate recommendation to allow the most dangerous criminals to earn an earlier release date.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood will provide the Government’s full response in a statement to the Commons today.

Prison campaigners welcomed the review but raised some concerns over the capacity of probation services to be able to manage an influx of offenders in the community. GMB union said the pay of probation and prison officers needed to be restored after being “drastically undermined” in recent years.

Ms Mahmood will today confirm that annual funding for probation will rise by up to £700million by the final year of the spending review – up from a £1.4billion budget today.

Mr Gauke said: “The scale of the crisis we are in cannot be understated. Overcrowded prisons are leading to dangerous conditions for staff and contributing to high levels of reoffending. We cannot build our way out of it. To stabilise the prison system and end the dangerous cycle of emergency releases the Government must take decisive action.”

He went on: “These recommendations, which span the entirety of the justice system, are focused not only on bringing the prison population under control but ultimately reducing reoffending and ensuring victims are protected. Taken as a package, these measures should ensure the government is never again in a position where it is forced to rely on the emergency release of prisoners. I urge the Lord Chancellor and Prime Minister to act with bravery in their response.”