Of the people sent to overcrowded prisons by British courts, two thirds are given a sentence of less than 12 months, taking valuable resources away from serious offenders from whom the public need protecting.
The number of people receiving custodial sentences has risen inexorably in the past ten years — we now lock up people who ten years ago would never have fallen into the prison net.
Research shows that short-term prison sentences do not work. Reoffending rates remain persistently high for low-level offenders given custodial sentences, and locking them in cells is costing the State millions each year.
Although the Ministry of Justice has dropped the £3 billion plan to build three Titan prisons, six new “mini-Titans” are still planned at an even higher