Labour should be wary of scrapping short prison sentences

What is the point of a short prison sentence? David Gauke will no doubt think carefully about that question now that he’s been confirmed as the chair of the long-awaited Sentencing Review. Launched by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), it aims to provide ideas for a new framework of sentencing across England and Wales that ministers hope will help keep the prison population in check and drive up the use of alternatives to prison.  Replacing short prison terms with community sentences is one idea that Gauke has favoured in the past and it’s gaining currency again. But it’s not straightforward, as I’ll explain.

What is clear, however, is that the current position in prisons is unsustainable. Official forecasts published earlier this year showed the number of prisoners is likely to pass the 100,000 mark by 2026, hitting 105,400 by the end of 2027. Even if all of the extra 20,000 prison places promised by the Conservative administration and which Labour has pledged to build are to materialise there still wouldn’t be enough.