Former Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, the Rt Hon David Gauke, and an expert panel are carrying out an independent review of sentencing. This comprehensive re-evaluation of our current sentencing framework was prompted by the extreme capacity pressures on the prison system and the subsequent emergency measures announced by the new government. The review seeks to provide long term solutions to the prison overpopulation crisis by examining non-custodial sentences, short and longer custodial sentences, alongside sentencing practises for prolific offenders and those with specific needs and vulnerabilities, and the administration of sentences.
Our submission is informed by our members; we consulted with civil society organisations, academics, and those with lived experience of the justice system.
Our recommendations focus on topics including:
- Expanding the use of problem-solving courts and developing new quasi-custodial sentences.
- Tackling the deterioration of prisons and improving prison culture to aid rehabilitation.
- Learning lessons from the unsuccessful “Transforming Rehabilitation” programme, and urgently improving a Probation Service that is currently “beyond crisis”.
- Re-embracing the challenges laid by the Corston Review.
- Placing racial disparity at the heart of reform.
- Involving those with lived experience, and those impacted by crime, in policy development processes.
- Incorporating a better understanding of trauma and trauma-informed interventions in order to support desistance.
Importantly, we highlight issues of repetition. Numerous policy consultations have been held on these issues over the past decade. While initiatives have been highlighted, learnings have not been well-documented, and recommendations/improvements have failed to be implemented.