Justice green paper a ‘blueprint for moderate and sensible reform’
The Ministry of Justice green paper is a blueprint for moderate and sensible reform and should mark the end of sterile debate on toughness or softness on crime. Rather than settling for policy-making on the hoof or enduring a crisis-driven justice system, the Secretary of State for justice has opened a proper consultation on sentencing and rehabilitation based on evidence of what works.
On Tuesday 7 December 2010 the Ministry of Justice published its green paper ‘Breaking the Cycle: effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders’. Prison Reform Trust will be making a detailed submission to the consultation which will be published on the Prison Reform Trust website.
Commenting on the publication of the Ministry of Justice’s green paper, Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:
The green paper is a blueprint for moderate and sensible reform and should mark the end of sterile debate on toughness or softness on crime. Rather than settling for policy-making on the hoof or enduring a crisis-driven justice system, the Secretary of State for justice has opened a proper consultation on sentencing and rehabilitation based on evidence of what works. It remains to be seen how far Ken Clarke can apply the principles and practice of justice reinvestment so necessary if solutions to crime are to be secured both within and outside the justice system.
In the House of Commons debate, try as they might, politicians from all sides found it difficult to escape consensus on the need to cut reoffending, make sentencing clearer and reform an outdated justice system.
On the sentencing front, the Secretary of State for Justice is determined to get a grip on the runaway indeterminate sentence for public protection, cut any unnecessary use of custodial remand, increase discretion in response to technical breach of license, and intervene to get children and young people out of trouble.
Building on successful intensive alternatives to custody, the government must now work to make sure that community sentences can reasonably command the confidence of the courts and the public. The green paper opens the way for a strong partnership between health and justice and at long last makes provision for proper diversion for people who are mentally ill to get the treatment they need and for addicts to break free from drugs and drink. These measures alone, if properly implemented and resourced, will cut crime and improve public health at a stroke.
The rehabilitation revolution covers constructive work and payback, reform of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, and reparation to victims.
This green paper should put prison firmly where it belongs – as an important place of last resort – no more, no less.
