Rishi Sunak has unveiled plans to punish petty criminals with community sentences. Photo: Rashid Nejati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sparing prison sentences for criminals will not stop reoffending without fixing the “horrible” criminal justice system, Lord Blunkett has warned Rishi Sunak.
Prime Minister's plans to punish low-level criminals such as robbers, thieves and drunk drivers through community sentences rather than locking them up in overcrowded prisons will fail unless there is a “rethink” to strengthen alternatives to imprisonment, Lord Blunkett said, speaking on behalf of the committee colleagues.
Writing in The Telegraph, the former Labor Home Secretary said the Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee found that community sentencing currently falls “far short of its potential” to rehabilitate criminals.
He said such punishments currently failed to address the causes of offending such as drugs, alcohol or mental illness, while probation officers with “unmanageable” workloads struggled to control offenders in the community.
< p>Judges and magistrates felt that they could not trust such ineffective punishments, and they had no choice but to send offenders to prisons who were on the verge of critical illness and “fed” crime, rather than treating it before releases, the report says.
As a result, courts handed down 69,941 community sentences in 2022, half the 158,586 recorded in 2012.
Prisons are at 99 per cent capacity and the prison service was close to running out of places this summer, forcing the government to announce a series of measures to reduce numbers, including a new policy banning offenders being jailed for less than 12 months.
“Time for a rethink.” »
“Given the dire state of the criminal justice system as a whole, it is clear that the time has come for a rethink,” said Lord Blunkett, who was home secretary from 2001 to 2004.
Lord Blunkett is believed to have discussed the proposals with Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary and a close ally of Sir Keir Starmer. She is working with the Labor leader to develop plans for how the party will tackle prison overcrowding.
Labour sources said the party was likely to accept the government's plans for short sentences, adding that the proposals from Lord Blunkett and committee “there is little to disagree with.”
“[Community] sentences currently fall far short of their potential. But with the right investment, they have the opportunity to succeed where short terms fail,” said Lord Blunkett. “Custody is sometimes necessary, but sentences in society can be harsh, contrary to public opinion.”
Lord Blunkett said the government needed to address the problems “quickly” so that judges and magistrates had realistic options other than jail. Photo: Paul Melling/Alamy
An eight-month investigation by a Lords committee found the rate of repeat offenders could be cut by a quarter. of the current 23 percent, if criminals were sentenced to effective community punishment that addressed the root of their personal problems rather than being sent to prison.
However, official data showed that 38 percent of probationary offenders (91,000 people) had mental health problems, but only 1,302 people (less than 1.5 percent) received appropriate treatment.
Orders for drug rehabilitation programs for offenders on probation have also been adopted. halved from 9,290 in 2012 to 3,601 in 2022, less than four per cent of the requirement for community sentenced offenders.
Lord Blunkett warned that the probation service was left “fragmented” due to “flawed” privatization, which the government abandoned as a failure. “The caseload is unmanageable and the turnover of cases has disrupted any ongoing relationship with offenders,” he said.
It has also resulted in courts being unable to obtain the reports they need before sentencing, an issue that has been highlighted a series of scandals. where violent criminals, such as teacher Zara Alina's killer, were wrongly released without proper supervision.
The killer of teacher Zara Alina was released from prison just nine days before her murder. He did not attend any meetings with probation officers. Photo: PA
The committee recommended the adoption of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) model for women offenders, under which centers offering comprehensive treatment, advice and support reduce re-offending by up to five per person. percent, compared with the national average of 23 percent.
The prison population is projected to rise from 89,000 to 106,300 by March 2027, but plans to build 20,000 new beds are behind schedule as two proposed new mega-prisons are currently blocked due to planning objections.
Lord Blunkett said the Government needed this. solve problems “quickly” so that judges and magistrates have realistic options other than imprisonment. “They often require some kind of punitive elements and 'treatment requirements' for alcohol and drug use and mental disorders,” he said.
“Get a grip”
Meanwhile, Lord Frost, a Conservative peer, writing in the Telegraph, called on ministers to “take control” of the crumbling prison system. “Whether you think their job is incarceration or rehabilitation, they do it poorly,” he wrote. “They are not incarcerating effectively because they are overcrowded.”
“We have no strategy for how to deal with this,” he added. “Instead, we choose to live with this crime and disorder, allow people to reoffend many, many times with little to no consequences, and then, when the person finally crosses the threshold, throw them into squalor behind bars without expecting the cycle to be broken.” A MoJ spokesman said: “We know that harsh community sentences are an effective alternative to short prison sentences and have already announced reforms to increase the use of suspended sentences to stop the merry-go-round. round of reoffending.
“We are doubling the number of [electronic] tags available to courts, investing in services to help offenders get off drugs and giving the Probation Service £155 million a year in support, which has already helped We are recruiting thousands more probation officer trainees to help ensure public safety.”
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