Kenneth Clarke

Less time, less crime

The case for a leaner prison system

issue 05 February 2011

I have a confession to make. In 18 years in government, I have never come up with a policy that was instantly popular. Today, as Justice Secretary, my job is to mend Britain’s broken prison system and make it less expensive. My proposals have prompted widespread criticism, not least from The Spectator, which said recently on its leader page that decreasing the number of prisoners in Britain will lead to more crime. I disagree.

Our prisons are expensive and dysfunctional — but they do not have to be. Labour introduced 21 criminal justice acts, which increased the cost of prisons by two thirds and sent the prison population soaring. Their attempt to outflank the right on law and order became a shambles. They ran out of cells in both prisons and police stations. Unable to build their way out of crisis, Labour let 80,000 criminals on to the streets before they had finished their sentences.

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