The British government plans to change prison sentencing to allow for thousands of criminals to avoid prison time amid overcrowding of jails.
The left-wing Labour Party government’s Sentencing Bill will urge judges to scrap prison time for sentences of up to 12 months, likely meaning that many criminals, such as drug dealers, sex offenders, and shoplifters will avoid jail time altogether, the Times of London reported.
The bill, which will be put before the parliament next month, would instead focus on community penalties, such as preventing those convicted from going to the pub or attending football matches, as well as increased electronic monitoring.
It comes following an independent review from former justice secretary David Gauke, which argued that reducing the number of criminals sent to prison could help solve the overcorwding of Britain’s jails.
The report went on to argue that short prison sentences are not effective in rehabilitating inmates and serve more to create repeat offfenders.
The bill would leave the decision to scarp prison terms would still largely in the hands of British judges — infamous already for handing out light sentences in many cases.
Additionally it would create a “good behaviour” clause that would potentially allow for violent criminals to be released after serving as little as one third of their sentence. However, this would not apply to terrorists or the most dangerous violent criminals, the Guardian reported.
Commenting on the proposed legislation, the government said in a statement: “This government inherited a prisons system days away from collapse. That is why we are building 14,000 more prison places — with 2,500 already delivered — but we know we can’t build our way out of this crisis. Without further action, we will run out of prison places in months, courts would halt trials and the police cancel arrests.
“That is why as part of our plan for change, we are overhauling sentencing to make sure we always have the prison places needed to keep the country safe.”
The plan comes in stark contrast to proposals outlined by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has vowed to enact “zero tolerance policing” for all crimes, prosecuting so-called minor offences in every instance. Taking inspiration from former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani, Farage said that if elected, his government would also empower police to conduct stop and search operations to combat the scourge of knife crime.
“As someone who spent over 20 years working for American companies, I was a regular transatlantic commuter, and I saw what one inspired, brave leader with a New York Police Department that wanted to work with him… I saw what could happen, what the potential was. I believe London needs a Giuliani, not a Sadiq Khan,” Farage said last month.
Rather than immediately allowing criminals like shoplifters back on to the streets after their arrest, the Brexit boss has proposed building a network of prisons on military bases where offenders would be immediately quarantined. To cut costs, Farage said that his government would also consider making deals with countries like El Salvador and Estonia where jailing criminals is cheaper.
