'Up to 23,000 criminals each year to avoid jail' if Government loosens sentences as prisons fill up
19 May 2024, 21:43 | Updated: 19 May 2024, 21:46
Up to 23,000 criminals a year could avoid jail if new Government sentencing guidelines are implemented, new analysis has found.
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The Sentencing Bill is set to create a legal presumption that prison sentences of less than 12 months should be "punished" through unpaid work.
Criminals could be force to clean up neighbourhoods and scrub graffiti instead of being sent to prison, as cells fill up nationwide and some lags are having their stretches inside ended early.
Burglars, thieves, shoplifters, some violent offenders, drug dealers and drink drivers are among the offences that could routinely be dealt with without prison sentences under the new rules.
Offenders would be eligible to be placed on suspended prison sentences by the courts rather than being sent straight to jail.
An analysis of Ministry of Justice figures by the Telegraph and the Public Safety Foundation found that 63% of all offenders were likely to be spared jail under the new rules.
The research claims that 22,934 offenders who were jailed for under 12 months in the year to June 2023 could have benefited from the presumption against prison.
Among the offenders last year who would have likely been given suspended sentences were:
- 3,852 convicted shoplifters
- 1,658 found guilty of common assault
- 1,537 convicted of assault
- 1,597 burglars
- 345 drug dealers.
The proposed changes come after the criminal justice system was ordered to delay starting the court cases of some suspects to deal with prison shortages.
Operation Early Dawn will see defendants in police custody remain there rather than being transferred to magistrates’ court for bail hearings, while those not prioritised will be released on bail.
Many magistrates' court cases will be delayed as a result, with the most serious cases given priority, according to the Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales.
It is not specified how many suspects will be bailed under the operation but officials suggest the plan will remain in place for a week.
The measure is just being used in London and the North East, at the moment, Sky News reported.
The emergency measure comes after the government separately agreed to cut short some prison sentences by up to 70 days, also to ease overcrowding.
This scheme was introduced in October 2023 and at the time allowed for release up to 18 days early, with this increasing to 60 days in March.
The plan to delay sending some cases to court emerged on Tuesday evening but the Ministry of Justice only confirmed the scheme publicly on Wednesday morning.
The prison population has rapidly increased in recent decades due to harsher sentences and court backlogs, which government officials say the pandemic is partly to blame for as more people were being held in prisons for longer, awaiting jury trial.
On Tuesday, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said there were nearly 16,000 people in custody awaiting trial at the moment and "plainly that has an impact".
