Punishment outside of prison must be expanded, says Justice Secretary

Shabana Mahmood is launching the review on Tuesday, the same day that around 1,100 inmates are due to be freed as part of the Government’s policy to free up prison space.

The review, chaired by former justice secretary David Gauke, aims to explore tougher punishments outside prison while making sure there is space to incarcerate the most dangerous offenders.

“We have to expand the use of punishment outside prison, and I’m very clear that that has to maintain the confidence of the public,” Ms Mahmood told BBC Radio 4’s Today.

“People still have to know that you are being punished for breaking the laws of our land, even if you’re not serving time in custody.

“There are real consequences, that you really feel the loss of your liberty still.”

Tags are already being used to supervise and monitor offenders serving sentences outside prison but the review will consider bringing in emerging technologies used in other countries, she said.

Asked if she was taking a new approach and wanted fewer people incarcerated in Britain, she said that the rate of increase is such that “nobody can keep up with demand”.

The prison population is increasing by 4,500 every year and the Government has committed to creating 14,000 additional prison spaces.

It is also looking to foreign jurisdictions for ideas, such as in Texas where authorities have used good behaviour credits.

Punishments outside prison could involve using wristwatches or apps that “nudge” offenders to ask if they have complied with licence conditions, in addition to sobriety tags or home detention curfews.

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

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

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.

Ms Mahmood said mistakes that led to the release in error of 37 prisoners as part of the scheme to ease overcrowding have been “ironed out”.

“That issue has been sorted and it has been resolved, and for the releases that are taking place today, that is not a mistake that will occur again,” she told Times Radio.

The rates of recall in the cohort of early releases are “broadly in line” with usual prison releases, she told LBC after a probation officers’ union said a “significant number” had been recalled to custody.

Prisons are expected to reach critical capacity again by July.

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

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

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 Mr Gauke would step down as a trustee from the charity while he is chairing the review.

The trust said the average prison sentence for serious, indictable offences is now 62.4 months — almost two years longer than in 2010.

Mr Gauke told the BBC that in the last three decades “governments of all colours have been very quick to announce new and longer prison sentences, and not so quick to expand prison capacity”.

“It is the case that the prison population is growing faster than we can build prisons,” he said.

Mr Gauke added his role would explore whether new technology could play a bigger role in punishment and rehabilitation outside prison.

“We now have access to electronic tagging that is more sophisticated than was the case in the past, we can do drink and drug monitoring,” he said.

“I think that does raise questions as to whether we can do more with people out of prison. There’s a proper punishment, the public is protected, but they’re better placed to be rehabilitated.”

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.