Today the Independent Sentencing Review, set up by the Government’s Ministry of Justice and chaired by David Gauke, has published Part 1 of its final report focusing on the history and trends of sentencing.
Responding to the report, Campbell Robb CEO of Nacro said:
“The findings from the Independent Sentencing Review report could be a watershed moment for the future of our criminal justice system. The report offers long-overdue recognition that the agenda to be “tough on crime” adopted by successive Governments has ultimately propelled the prison overcrowding crisis to the current point of collapse. We welcome the acknowledgment that a new approach to criminal justice is a vital first step to a more effective criminal justice system.
As the report makes clear, the growing prison population, now over 85,000, is not just a figure – but a symptom of a justice system that has placed a punitive ideology at its core above meaningful evidence-based intervention.
Nacro has long advocated for an effective justice system informed by evidence as to what works to reduce reoffending. Research shows us that community-based sentencing and investment in community services are the most effective means of reducing reoffending – to ultimately make our communities safer. The fact that people sentenced to custody often have the highest rates of reoffending, underscores the point that prison should not and cannot continue to be the default response to crime.
This Review is a pivotal moment for justice reform. If we’re truly committed to a fair and effective system, the shift away from the illusion of quick fixes and tough sentences to focus on building a system that rehabilitates and reintegrates people is a vital first step. We look forward to sight of the Review’s recommendations to Government in the Spring to better understand how these findings will translate into meaningful action.”
Learn more about our work
We operate in more than 40 prisons and provide services across England and Wales. We help 28,000 people across our services each year and run the CAS-2 service for the Government housing people coming out of prison on bail or licence. We work with people at every stage of the criminal justice system, from liaison and diversion services in police custody and courts, to resettlement into the community after prison. We use the insights from our services and the experiences of the people we support to campaign together for a criminal justice system which better serves us all. We’ve been working in this field for more than 50 years.
