A tough alternative to prison, possibly involving “visible” work punishments in the community, should be more readily available to judges, the lord chief justice has suggested.
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd has called for a debate on how to develop more challenging sentences that would allow offenders to be kept out of jail.
“The most difficult decision a judge ever has to make is whether someone should be sent to prison or not,” the lord chief justice said at his annual press conference in the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday.
“If you are sending someone to prison for a very short time, the ability of the prison to cope with that person is limited in the current circumstances. It’s very important that you have real alternatives to prison. It’s important you have tough community sentences available … and this is something at which we really need to look.
“Should you have some really tough kind of work for [offenders] to do? Should you make the punishment visible? What’s essential is that you have a tough alternative to prison … These are things on which it would be good to have a proper open debate.”
Fifteen years ago there was a low level of confidence in the probation service, Thomas said. That had now improved but there was still a need for better communication.
“Every judge should go to prison once a year,” Thomas said. “You need to know where you are sending people … The judiciary needs to have confidence and the press needs to see what is being done to rehabilitate or punish people.”
There are already provisions for offenders carrying out unpaid work such as removing graffiti, clearing wasteland and decorating public places to be required to wear a high-visibility orange vest, however they are not widely used.
In 2008, Labour introduced vests with the words “community payback” written on the back for criminals on community service, a move that attracted controversy and criticism.
Thomas’s comments come as jails in England and Wales endure a turbulent period. This month thousands of prison officers staged a walkout amid claims the system was “in meltdown” after a rise in violence and self-harm. There are more than 85,000 people in prison in England and Wales.
Asked about the large number of prisoners still being held in jail under indefinite sentences for the protection of the public (IPPs) and who have served far longer than their original tariff, Thomas acknowledged that it was “a problem and I’m very glad to see the numbers coming down.”
This month Michael Gove, the former justice secretary, warned that too many people were being sent to prison.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Protecting the public will always be our top priority. Our message is simple: if you commit a serious offence, you should expect to go to prison.
“Sentencing is a matter for independent judges, and the sentencing council recently published new guidelines to make sure sentences accurately reflect the seriousness of the crime.”
