PM's plan to increase the length of sentences could worsen the prison crisis

Boris Johnson plans to lengthen prison sentences by getting rid of automatic release halfway through sentences for those imprisoned for some serious violent and sexual crimes. Instead of being released halfway through a life sentence, those serving seven years or more will be eligible for release after serving two-thirds of their sentence. Johnson claims this will ‘better protect the public and restore confidence in the justice system.’ A spokeswoman from the Ministry of Justice claimed that the change will keep violent and sexual offenders ‘where they belong’. The government ultimately plan to create 10,000 additional prison spaces to accommodate for all prisoners. However, a report by the Prison Reform Trust Director claims that lengthening sentences will not improve public safety and will add pressure to an already overcrowded and underfunded prison system. Therefore, it can be questioned whether longer prison sentences for those committing serious crimes will have a positive effect on the long term, especially when considering the other pressing issues faced by prisons; with one prisoner self-harming every ten minutes, and 93 violent incidents recorded each day across prisons, issues such as these may demand attention as more of a priority sooner than sentence lengths. Prison sentences in England and Wales are already longer than many other European countries and rates of imprisonment are higher too.

Keeping prisoners for longer under this system in this way may indeed exacerbate crime levels, as it could lead to an increase in violence in prisons and will make it more difficult for offenders to reintegrate into society upon release. This is one of the great flaws of our justice system, as ‘ineffective reintegration’ appears to directly contribute to the problem of reoffending upon release. The evidence is still developing, but a number of studies have found that those serving short prison sentences have higher rates of reoffending than those serving community sentences. There is some promising but mixed evidence for the effectiveness of reparative and restorative programmes in reducing reoffending. Therefore, longer sentences may have a negative impact on reintegration into society and also increase reoffending rates, as opposed to keeping the public safe. This would support the viewpoint that prisons increase criminality: The violent, inhumane and psychologically destructive nature of prisonisation makes prisoners more likely to reoffend upon release. Moreover, the government’s actions may be better served attempting to reduce crime and reoffending by addressing the internal conditions of prisons. 

In the long term, longer sentences will necessitate more spaces in prisons, and lead to more people in prison for longer without contributing back to society. If rehabilitation methods and internal conditions of prisons were improved, this could perhaps contribute to easing mental health issues in prisons, reduce crime rates and allow offenders a better chance to rebuild their lives.