Sex offenders in 20 prisons to be chemically castrated under pilot scheme, Justice Secretary confirms
22 May 2025, 11:56 | Updated: 22 May 2025, 12:28
A pilot scheme to chemically castrate certain sex offenders will be rolled out at 20 prisons, the Justice Secretary has said.
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The Government is further exploring whether to make chemical castration mandatory for certain offenders.
Shabana Mahmood told the Commons: “The review has recommended we continue a pilot of so-called medication to manage problematic sexual arousal.
“I will go further with a national rollout, beginning in two regions covering 20 prisons. And I am exploring whether mandating the approach is possible.
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"Of course, it is vital that this approach is taken alongside psychological interventions that target other causes of offending, like asserting power and control."
Former justice secretary David Gauke told LBC that chemical castration "could play a role" in reducing the risks posed by sex offenders.
Read more: Paedophiles and sex offenders face castration: Gauke’s sentencing review
His independent review of sentencing in England and Wales says a pilot scheme should be expanded.
Mr Gauke said it would be "voluntary" - and isn't being touted as a "solution" - but that some offenders are "very keen" to have injections to help curb their offending.
Mr Gauke told LBC that some offenders would be ‘very keen’ to undergo the procedure.
He said some sex offenders were "desperate to rid themselves of these desires".
He also said that there was a trial system already in place in the south west of England for the chemical suppressants to be given out to offenders.
“What we are recommending is a voluntary arrangement. All we are saying is we should look at it," Mr Gauke said.
"This is not a solution to most sex offenders but it could play a role in reducing risk and allowing some offenders to move on.
"It is a voluntary arrangement, it is focussed on some sexual offenders. For some, who have sexual desires that they actively want to suppress [paedophiles] for example."
Mr Gauke suggests a trial to give some paedophiles medication to suppress their libido - chemical castration - should be continued and explored further.
It comes after the justice secretary Shabana Mahmood warned last week that the prison estate in England and Wales was on course to run out of space by November, despite previous emergency measures to release inmates early.
To combat this issue, Mr Gauke's proposals see plans for a greater use of community orders and a move away from locking people up for short periods of time - with a recommendation that legislation should be passed for jail terms of under one year to only be used in "exceptional circumstances".
It would mean people serving standard determinate sentences of under four years - including sex offenders and domestic abusers - would be able to earn their way out of jail after just a third of their sentence.
As reported by LBC, the second third of their sentence would be carried out at home, under the supervision of an already stretched probation service.
The final portion would see them labelled ‘at risk’ but wouldn’t see them recalled to prison, unless a further offence resulted in a new charge.
It’s understood that ministers will reject a similar proposal for the most dangerous criminals, who the report suggests should be able to earn an earlier parole hearing based on good behaviour.
NAPO, the union that represents probation officers, warned they ‘already need several thousand more staff’ to cope with their increased workload, since the emergency early release of some inmates.
Their general secretary Ian Lawrence told LBC: "We have said all along that successive governments have not given enough regard to public safety.
"We keep saying, unless people have the opportunity to spend the quality time they need with people who are serving sentences in the community, we’re going to see a revolving door of recidivism and that’s got to come to an end.
"It’s quite clear there are insufficient staff in post and we’re not going to change that overnight. We need to stem the haemorrhage of people leaving the service."
It’s understood the probation service will be bolstered with an extra £700 million from the government to support the reforms it plans to implement.
The sentencing review also says recall conditions should be altered to mean fewer people are brought back behind bars for missing appointments or not being at their registered home, unless they show a pattern of repeated breaches.
During a visit to HMP New Hall in Yorkshire in February, as part of the review, LBC heard of inmates who had repeatedly been hauled back in for technicalities.
One said: “They do recall people for daft reasons - I lived in a newbuild and when you put my postcode in it only went up to a certain number. Mine wasn’t there.
"So, they came to my house to recall me after five days even though they said they didn’t want to, but there was nothing they could do."
David Gauke’s review recommends that standard recall periods should be set at 56 days, instead of the 14 or 28 days it is just now, to allow engagement in programmes and for accommodation and drug rehab arrangements to be put in place.
There were 10,800 foreign national offenders (FNOs) held in prisons across England and Wales in March this year, representing 12% of the population behind bars.
The review recommends speeding up their deportation, with a suggestion that people sentenced to three years or less should be flown home immediately.
Numerous groups have warned that the success of the reforms lies in more funding being made available across the board.
Chief Constable Sacha Hatchett, speaking on behalf of the country’s police forces, said: “Out of prison should not mean out of control. If we are going to have fewer people in prison, we need to ensure that we collectively have the resources and powers to manage the risk offenders pose outside of prison.
"Trust and confidence in the criminal justice system must not be lost through these reforms, and where offenders are receiving community sentences, we need to ensure they are demanding, robustly enforced and with a consequence for those that do not comply.”
The Magistrates Association said: “The review calls for a far greater reliance on tagging offenders in their community, and we hope that the extra £700 million secured by the Ministry of Justice for 30,000 extra tags, also includes funding to boost probation staffing and resources – because without this, the initiative will fail.”
The justice secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to make a statement to Parliament later, setting out the government’s response.
