By Helen Mooney
6 October 2009
Prison sentences shorter than 12 months should be scrapped to address the serious issue of overcrowding in the country’s jails, the Prison Governors Association has urged.
At the PGA’s annual conference on October 6, prison governors backed a motion from the national executive committee condemning the rise in the jail population to record levels. It called on the government to launch a ‘radical review’ of sentencing policy.
Prisoner numbers in England and Wales topped 84,000 for the first time in August. Last year, approximately 65,000 out of 100,348 prisoners jailed were given sentences of 12 months or under. The government has pledged to increase prison capacity to 96,000 by 2014.
PGA president Paul Tidball said: ‘Prison, the most expensive disposal option for the courts, should be reserved for those of highest risk to communities and citizens. This principle made sense before. It is more compelling now we really can't afford, literally, to be locking people up unnecessarily, ineffectually, and so pointlessly.
‘More on less would be a saner approach. We should in fact spend more on fewer, the few who need resources to tackle serious offending behaviour.’
Geoff Dobson, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, warned that the proposal could lead to 'up-tariffing', with people receiving higher sentences so that they go to prison. ‘But I sympathise with the argument that short sentences lead to the same people coming in and out of prison – it's the old “revolving door” argument,’ he added.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said that the government had made community sentences harder but it was important for judges and magistrates to have a range of options available when sentencing.
‘We are clear that prison is the right place for the most serious, violent and persistent offenders, and we will always provide enough prison places for those who should be behind bars,’ he added.
6 October 2009
Prison sentences shorter than 12 months should be scrapped to address the serious issue of overcrowding in the country’s jails, the Prison Governors Association has urged.
At the PGA’s annual conference on October 6, prison governors backed a motion from the national executive committee condemning the rise in the jail population to record levels. It called on the government to launch a ‘radical review’ of sentencing policy.
Prisoner numbers in England and Wales topped 84,000 for the first time in August. Last year, approximately 65,000 out of 100,348 prisoners jailed were given sentences of 12 months or under. The government has pledged to increase prison capacity to 96,000 by 2014.
PGA president Paul Tidball said: ‘Prison, the most expensive disposal option for the courts, should be reserved for those of highest risk to communities and citizens. This principle made sense before. It is more compelling now we really can't afford, literally, to be locking people up unnecessarily, ineffectually, and so pointlessly.
‘More on less would be a saner approach. We should in fact spend more on fewer, the few who need resources to tackle serious offending behaviour.’
Geoff Dobson, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, warned that the proposal could lead to 'up-tariffing', with people receiving higher sentences so that they go to prison. ‘But I sympathise with the argument that short sentences lead to the same people coming in and out of prison – it's the old “revolving door” argument,’ he added.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said that the government had made community sentences harder but it was important for judges and magistrates to have a range of options available when sentencing.
‘We are clear that prison is the right place for the most serious, violent and persistent offenders, and we will always provide enough prison places for those who should be behind bars,’ he added.
