Towards a rehabilitative focus: Why the new Government must prioritise community sentences to tackle the justice crisis
One of the first acts of new Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood recognised that ‘our prisons are on the point of collapse’ as she announced that the Government will temporarily reduce the proportion of certain sentences served in prison from 50% to 40%.
The Government has been clear this is a temporary measure – the result of crisis upon crisis preventing the system from functioning.
But the truth is, many of those being released early should not have been jailed in the first place. Prison has only served to reinforce the issues which caused their offending, such as homelessness, mental health crisis and problematic substance use. Under the automatic release scheme they will be released into the same chaos, and likely recalled to prison very quickly.
Their outcomes could have been different. Had many of these people been given community sentences, with proper support to help them leave behind the cycle of crisis and crime, the current crisis in our prisons could have been avoided all together.
From short-sighted sentencing to support in the community
Over the last decade there has been marked decline in the use of community sentences. This has widely been attributed to sentencers losing faith in the beleaguered Probation Service, and has also coincided with marked sentence inflation across a range of offences.
It is now more evident than ever that if the system does not change and we continue to imprison such large amounts of people, the prisons crisis will continue.
As part of our ‘Beyond the Cycle’ roadmap, we call on the new government to use this opportunity to restore the reputation and usage of community sentences and look to enact the goal of Revolving Doors’ ‘Short Sighted’ campaign once and for all.
From its launch in March 2018 onwards, we fought to show that short sentences were counterproductive. Instead, we asked the government to strengthen community sentences so they would command public confidence and be better able to deal effectively with some of the underlying causes of persistent, low-level offending, including problematic substance use and mental ill-health.
Specifically, we hoped that government would take the opportunity to redesign community sentences to provide genuine support tailored to address these underlying issues and comprehend their impact on behaviour and engagement. Our campaign called upon those in power to seize those opportunity for long-term, deep-rooted change that will help to end the cycle of reoffending.
“Judges think ‘he’s been in trouble for this and for that over the years, so, you know, he’s not going to change, and you know, he just keeps doing that sort of thing all the time. So, the only option we’ve got then is send them down.’ But short sentences aren’t going to do anything […] Coming out you are even worse off than when you went in.”
Short sentences and the failure to tackle unmet needs
We now call upon the new government to seize the opportunity for making progress on making sentencing about rehabilitation. Those currently on short sentences have very specific needs profiles. The Offender Assessment System (OASys) completed on each person on probation provides a valuable lens through which we can examine the needs of people on short sentences. We gained access to the June 2023 data, which presents a stark reality:
- 11,600 people (60%) serving short sentences had a documented need for drug misuse intervention.
- 7,500 people (39%) were identified as having an alcohol misuse need.
- 4,000 people (32%) were found to have a significant level or some level of psychiatric problems.
- 13,700 people (70%) exhibited a significant level or some level of psychological problems.
The evidence clearly shows that putting people grappling with addiction or mental health issues in prison for brief periods, devoid of focused support, fails to deter reoffending.
Ministry of Justice statistics back up this stark reality: adults released from sentences shorter than 12 months exhibit a staggering reoffending rate of 55.5%, while those embarking on court orders show a slightly lower but still significant rate of 32.2%. The revolving door of crisis, crime and short prison sentences only exacerbates the turmoil in their lives, rendering rehabilitation increasingly elusive.
A pathway towards successful community sentences
Imprisoning people driven to offend by unmet needs not only lets down society but also undermines the rehabilitation process.
Our members repeatedly recount their struggles to overcome substance abuse and mental health issues while entangled in criminal activity, only to find prison exacerbating their plight. Post-release, accessing essential services becomes even more difficult due to lost placements and inadequate support infrastructure.
‘Left prison homeless, lived in car for three years and was willing to change – probation just ticked me off and sent me on my way.’
A permanent shift away from short prison sentences, coupled with an increase in community sentences and investment in evidence-backed alternatives to imprisonment and punishment can steer society towards a more equitable and successful rehabilitative approach.
Community sentences serve as an opportunity for comprehensive support within communities, aiding long-term rehabilitation by promoting (re)integration into society for people who have been isolated by unmet needs and repeat offending.
Truly successful community sentences should adopt a holistic approach focused on meaningful rehabilitation, offering tailored treatment and peer mentoring. This should include the integration of mental health and substance misuse treatment into these sentences, so that individuals can confront and manage their issues in a supportive environment.
‘At one point in my life I was committing crime to support my habit but also, I couldn’t get the help I needed with drug services so had to commit more crime to be put onto a DRR (Drug Rehabilitation Requirement) order to get on a methadone script.’
This also means ensuring the Probation Service is equipped and assisted by the voluntary sector to provide quality support, encompassing treatment, peer mentoring, and therapies, at every stage.
Punishment alone does little to redress root problems; instead, it’s time to focus on reform and rehabilitation, especially for those battling mental health and substance misuse.
By utilising community sentences to tackle the root causes of criminal behaviour, the new government can fulfil both a moral obligation to reduce crime and promote rehabilitation, and further a pragmatic strategy for reducing reoffending and fostering safer communities.
This approach would represent a steadfast commitment to dismantling the cycle of offending and fostering lasting change within the justice system: a legacy that any Government could be proud of.
