…”We should be reserving our most severe form of punishment for our most serious types of offending.
“Should someone be sent to prison and deprived of their liberty for an offence that involves no violence, no threats and no sexual assault?” he said.
“Instead, the priority should be to deal with such offences in the community, giving precedence to compensation or reparation for the victim and, where the offence is sufficiently serious, imposing a community sentence.”
He also argued against imprisoning repeat, non-violent offenders.
…Making those who commit such crimes compensate victims or serve community sentences instead would reduce the prison population by nearly 6,000, saving approximately £230m each year, our correspondent added.
The Howard League plans to distribute the pamphlet, entitled “What if imprisonment were abolished for property offences?” to every magistrates’ court in England and Wales in an attempt to spark a debate on sentencing issues.
Frances Crook, the Howard League’s chief executive, said: “When it comes to crimes like theft and fraud, victims are losing out from a justice system that too often prioritises putting the perpetrator behind bars rather than returning people’s stolen property and providing much needed compensation.”
Read the full article.
See the press release from the Howard League for Penal Reform.
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