'House arrest to replace prison for low-level criminals', as Justice Secretary bids to cut overcrowding

22 October 2024, 05:48 | Updated: 22 October 2024, 08:23

Criminals could be sentenced to house arrest instead of prison after an overhaul of the system by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, as the government fights to reduce overcrowding in jails.

Ms Mahmood will launch the review on Tuesday, with former Conservative Justice Secretary David Gauke to lead the scheme.

It comes on the same day that around 1,100 inmates are released from prison early because of overcrowding.

The review will look at using technology to place criminals in a "prison outside prison", and more community service.

Punishments outside of prison could involve using "nudge" technology, sobriety tags or home detention curfews.

A senior prison service source said: "We are particularly interested in nudge technology, like a wristwatch that says: 'Have you got in touch with your probation officer? Have you turned up at your mental health treatment appointment?'

"They're not things that restrict your liberty, but they are very helpful in terms of behaviour compliance and nudge compliance."

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It comes as the Justice Secretary told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that releasing 37 prisoners who were accidentally released early was a "mistake that wont happen again".

At the time, the Ministry of Justice admitted the prisoners were wrongly released under Labour's plans to reduce overcrowding in jails.

"That was something even I didn’t anticipated," admitted the Justice Secretary, "as soon as we were made aware of it, we took action".

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Community alternatives and fines instead of prison time will be examined as part of the new review, as will the impact of short custodial sentences.

Ministers will also look abroad for ideas about how the scheme could work, such as in Texas, where authorities have used good behaviour credits.

The review will also consider whether more can be done to tackle prolific offending and crimes committed against women and girls by drawing sentences that reflect the severity of the act.

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Ms Mahmood said: "We want the review to consider the broader framework when it comes to sentencing, particularly because in order to meet our commitment on halving the levels of violence against women and girls.

"Obviously, sentencing time in prison has a role to play, but prevention has a big role to play as well.

"I would fully be expecting them to be looking at sex offenders and sex offences within the scope of this review."

Ms Mahmood announced plans in July to temporarily reduce how much of their sentences inmates must serve behind bars from 50% to 40% as the Ministry of Justice said overcrowding had pushed jails to the "point of collapse".

The first release of around 1,700 prisoners from jails across England and Wales started on September 10. The latest tranche, starting on Tuesday, has expanded eligibility to include those serving sentences of five years or more.

Prisons are expected to reach critical capacity again by July.

The number of prison spaces fluctuates, but it is understood there are some 89,000 prison spaces in total.

The Government has committed to creating 14,000 additional prison spaces.

The findings of the sentencing review will be submitted by spring next year. The results of the review are expected to take effect by March 2026 at the earliest.

Mr Gauke said: "Clearly, our prisons are not working. The prison population is increasing by around 4,500 every year, and nearly 90% of those sentenced to custody are re-offenders.

"This review will explore what punishment and rehabilitation should look like in the 21st century, and how we can move our justice system out of crisis and towards a long-term, sustainable future."

Mr Gauke argued in 2019, when he was justice secretary, that there is a "very strong case" for abolishing jail terms of six months or less, with exceptions made for violent and sexual crimes.

The Prison Reform Trust said the average prison sentence for serious, indictable offences is now 62.4 months - almost two years longer than in 2010.

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Mark Day, deputy director of the trust, said: "The current capacity crisis has bought our criminal justice system close to collapse. Emergency measures are not a long-term solution.

"We urgently need to get to grips with runaway sentence inflation which has contributed to chronic levels of overcrowding and driven prison numbers and our use of imprisonment up to an unsustainable level."

The Law Society welcomed the review, saying: "It is high time for an examination of alternatives to the use of custody, which is an expensive and often counterproductive form of punishment."

The cost of punishment outside prison is estimated at around £5,000 annually per person compared with more than £50,000 to imprison someone for a year.