Rehaul prison system, say Friends
QICJ urges government focus on reform and rehabilitation in prisons
Quakers in Criminal Justice (QICJ) has urged the government to focus on reforming and rehabilitating offenders.
The UK’s ‘tough on crime’ approach harms society and does not stop reoffending, the Friends said in their submission to the Ministry of Justice’s Sentencing Review.
The review aims to address the severe overcrowding which brought the prison system within days of collapse in summer 2024. It will present its findings by spring.
‘The prison population in England and Wales has doubled over the last 30 years and is now the highest incarceration rate of any Western European country,’ says the Quakers in Britain website. ‘But the supply of new prison places has not kept up with demand. For the 18 months after February 2023, the male estate was routinely operating at above 99 per cent capacity.’
While the number of inmates serving over ten years has nearly tripled since 2001, evidence suggests that long sentences do not deter people from committing crimes. Certainty of being caught is a far better deterrent, QICJ said.
QICJ also highlighted the role of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in driving crime. Nearly half of prisoners have faced four or more of these traumatic experiences. QICJ called for more training for prison and probation staff to address these issues.
Other recommendations include: investing in restorative justice and therapeutic communities, such as HMP Grendon, which have lower reoffending rates; expanding community sentences and alternatives to custody, which are cheaper and more effective; and relying less on electronic monitoring and providing better human support.
