Scrap jail terms of less than a year, says former Labour justice secretary

The next government should consider scrapping most prison sentences of up to a year in order to tackle the overcrowding crisis, a former Labour justice secretary has said.

Lord Falconer, who served in Tony Blair’s government, backed a report recommending that offenders should instead be given suspended sentences, combined with community punishments, to reduce the flow of offenders into jails.

The report, by the Centre for Justice Innovation (CJI), of which Lord Falconer is patron, also proposed that the incoming government should reduce the time served by most prisoners jailed for up to four years from 50 per cent of their sentence to 40 per cent.

Lord Falconer, who oversaw an early release scheme in 2007 when the prison system last ran out of space, said: “This new report demonstrates the acute and interlinked crises facing the criminal justice system. The report warrants serious study and consideration by whoever forms the next government.”

It is understood both options have been drawn up by officials on the orders of Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, ready for the next government to decide.

Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, has said she is ruling nothing in or out until Labour has seen the true scale of the prisons crisis.

Ministers have been warned that prisons could run out of places by the time of the election on July 4, despite the introduction of an early release scheme allowing offenders to go free up to 70 days before their scheduled date.

The CJI report said an incoming government should consider reviving legislation drawn up by Mr Chalk that would introduce a presumption against jail for any offender sentenced to fewer than 12 months, excluding crimes of a sexual, violent or terrorist nature.

“A new government could re-introduce the presumption (or a version of it, looking at very short sentences of three months or less initially),” it said.

It added the current measures to tackle overcrowding, including early release, were not enough, saying: “The reality is that, because of past failures to tackle the sources of demand on our prisons and failure to build sufficient prison capacity, there are no good options left on the table.”

The report proposes emergency secondary legislation – which could be introduced quickly – to shorten the time served for offenders sentenced to up to four years, excluding those assessed to pose a high risk of serious harm to the public, from 50 per cent to 40 per cent .

“We acknowledge this recommendation means that people imprisoned for shoplifting, possession and supply of drugs, and burglary (to take some of the most common offences) are released earlier than they would have been,” it said.

“It means releasing some people who would have served 24 months in prison after only 19 months, some who would have served 12 months serving only 10. It means the victims of the crimes those people have committed will receive less by way of retributive punishment.

“But we see no alternative. The system is already unable to deliver what it says it will, through the various early release schemes. The system is already letting down victims and our communities by not properly addressing the root causes of people’s offending.”

The report also recommended a radical rethink of remand prisoners, whose numbers have hit a record 16,000, representing a sixth of the total of 88,000 people in jail.

It said people whose time on remand matched or surpassed the sentence they could get should be offered their freedom if they agree to a guilty plea.

Phil Bowen, the director of the CJI, said: “Whoever enters the Ministry of Justice as the new Lord Chancellor on July 5 will be faced with a set of challenges more daunting than any witnessed in a generation. Urgent and immediate action will be needed to stave off imminent crisis in our prisons.

“If that can be achieved, the task ahead is to commit to serious and sustainable reform over the next Parliament and beyond.”