The government’s recently announced review of prison sentencing presents a crucial opportunity to fundamentally rethink our approach to criminal justice (Judges could impose house arrest on criminals as part of major overhaul of sentencing, 21 October).
Our current system effectively warehouses offenders, confining them to cells for excessive periods with minimal purposeful activity. This approach serves neither society’s interests nor those of the inmates themselves. I know this from personal experience. I spent 22 hours a day locked in a cell, and then assembled light fittings for four hours a day at most. While a short distraction and a way to fill some of the time, it was a long way from being rehabilitative in any sense of the word.
While the raw emotion of victims and their families is entirely understandable, and every victim of crime is a tragedy, allowing retribution to drive policy will perpetuate a cycle of failure and create more victims of crime. True justice requires a focus on rehabilitation. We need properly funded education programmes, mental health support and skills training to give offenders genuine opportunities for reform. Countries that prioritise rehabilitation consistently show lower reoffending rates than those focused primarily on punishment.
The review must be brave enough to acknowledge that longer sentences alone do not create a safer society. Instead, we should invest in programmes that help offenders confront their behaviour, develop new skills and prepare for productive lives on release. This isn’t about being “soft” on crime – it’s about being smart about reducing it.
James Stoddart
Coordinator, The Oswin Project,
Morpeth, Northumberland
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