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New Statesman
22-05-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
The prisons crisis demands a new era of reform
Photo by In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images We have a prison population crisis that must be addressed urgently. Our prisons are close to being full (with 88,087 inmates) and the demand for places is growing faster than it is possible to build new cells. Unless action is taken to reduce demand in the next few months, we will either have to undertake a programme of emergency early releases or be unable to place new offenders in custody. That was the bleak context when I was approached last September by the government to chair an independent review on sentencing policy, assisted by a panel of experts from across the criminal justice system. At the time, the expectation was that prison capacity would be reached in spring 2026. Since then, matters have become more acute as the prison population has risen even faster than anticipated. Last week, the Ministry of Justice revealed that the adult male estate will be full by November. Considering the need for a precautionary buffer, by early 2028 demand for prison places needs to be reduced by 9,500 compared to current projections. There is no uncontentious way to do this, although some argue that there are two relatively easy ways of doing this. The first is to deport foreign national offenders (FNOs), of whom there are approximately 10,800 in our prisons. More could be deported, it is argued. We agree and have set out proposals on how to do so. But claims that this can solve the problem entirely are unfortunately very wide of the mark. For a start, approximately a third of FNOs are on remand awaiting trial. For some nationalities, we have no functioning relationship with an FNO's home state, so they will not accept them back. Even where we can deport someone, unless we have a prisoner exchange agreement, there is no guarantee that an offender would be sent to prison in their home country. For serious offenders, it would be wrong for them to escape time in prison altogether. The second suggestion is that if only we accelerated the courts process, we could reduce the remand population, which currently stands at over 17,000. Again, there is a very good case for reducing the courts backlog. Current waiting times are too long for defendants and complainants and doing so would reduce the remand population. But although some on remand will be acquitted or have already served their time, a large majority ultimately will be convicted and have more time to serve. Furthermore, tens of thousands of defendants are currently on bail. Some of those defendants will eventually be convicted and sentenced to prison. The point here is not that we should ignore the courts backlog (Brian Leveson will be reporting on this shortly), but that it is not the solution to the prison capacity crisis in the short term. Instead, we have focused on what can make a significant difference to the numbers. The reoffending rates for those receiving short custodial sentences are very high. A better approach to continuing to use short sentences as frequently as we do would be to strengthen community sentences (both by widening the use of sanctions available to the courts and enhancing the capacity of the probation service) and only using short sentences in exceptional circumstances. One area of the sentencing regime that works well is suspended sentences – compliance with conditions is relatively high and reoffending is relatively low. We recommend allowing them to be used more widely. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe For those who do go to prison, we need a change of approach. We recommend a progression model that means that well-behaving prisoners can be released earlier than is currently the case, but that there is also a second stage in the sentence where offenders are monitored much more closely in the community. Technology creates new opportunities to do that. A significant cause of the surging prison population has been the increased use of recall, when an offender out on licence is returned to prison as a consequence of breaching the terms of that licence. In 1993, there were fewer than a hundred recalled prisoners and even in my time as justice secretary in 2018-19 it was just 6,000. There are now over 13,000. We recommend a fundamental reform of this system to ensure that recall is only used when necessary. All of these measures should be sufficient to prevent our prisons from overflowing. But a successful long-term approach means they need to be accompanied by measures to ensure that we can adequately deal with offenders in the community. The probation service, third sector organisations that assist in rehabilitation, drug and mental health treatment, and approved premises for ex-prisoners reintegrating into society are all vital to bring down reoffending and can be neglected if resources are diverted into supporting an ever larger prison population. In the longer term, the best way to reduce the prison population is to cut reoffending, and these areas can play an important part. There is an opportunity to move in a more positive direction in which prison continues to play an important part in our system but that we make better use of the alternatives to custody, bringing down reoffending and reducing the number of victims. Necessity has created an opportunity to deliver important and meaningful reform. I hope it is an opportunity that the government will take. David Gauke is the former justice secretary and chaired the government's independent sentencing review. Related
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Medallion secures $17m commitments to advance Ravensthorpe-Forrestania project in Australia
Medallion Metals has secured binding commitments to raise approximately A$27.5m ($17.6m) through a targeted institutional placement to accelerate the development of its Ravensthorpe Gold Project (RGP) and the acquisition of the Forrestania Nickel Operation (FNO) in Western Australia. This financial boost will expedite near-term production opportunities for gold and copper at the RGP, which will be processed at the FNO. The placement involves two tranches, with the first raising approximately A$6m through the issue of 28.6 million fully paid ordinary shares. The second tranche aims to raise approximately A$21.5m through the issuance of 102.3 million shares. Medallion will be well-capitalised post-placement, with around A$31m in cash, net of capital-raising costs. The proceeds will also support the de-risking and acceleration of the proposed FNO acquisition, in addition to facilitating relevant pre-development activities and supporting general working capital needs. The FNO, a sulphide flotation facility, includes the Cosmic Boy Flotation Plant, which is suitable for treating RGP gold-copper-bearing sulphide mineralisation. A scoping study released in December 2024 underscored the technical and commercial viability of this unique, low-capital expenditure pathway to production, utilising the FNO infrastructure. The scoping study highlights include an initial production inventory of 2.7 million tonnes (mt) at 3.9 grams per tonne gold and 0.6% copper, with a mine life of 5.5 years, generating average annual pre-tax cash flows of $90m under base case assumptions. Medallion has made progress with infill drilling, test work and permitting activities at the RGP. A bankable feasibility study (BFS) is also under way, laying the groundwork for the proposed development, with the final investment decision (FID) set for the fourth quarter of 2025 (Q4 2025). Canaccord Genuity served as the sole lead manager and bookrunner for the placement. Medallion managing director Paul Bennett said: 'Medallion emerges from this capital raising in an extremely strong position to accelerate the sulphide development strategy. The Board has confidence that tremendous value can be unlocked for Medallion shareholders by bringing Ravensthorpe resources together with the Forrestania infrastructure. 'Recent drill results suggest that opportunity will continue to grow with continued investment. Additionally, the recent amendments to proposed transaction terms to acquire the Forrestania tenure add a broader strategic dimension to the growth options open to the business. 'We thank new and existing shareholders for their support of the capital raising. The backing from this group of high-quality resources investor is a significant endorsement of the team, assets and near term gold copper production strategy. Shareholders can look forward to a strong pipeline of positive news and de-risking milestones throughout the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.' Earlier this month, Medallion Metals amended the terms of agreement with IGO to acquire 100% of the FNO. "Medallion secures $17m commitments to advance Ravensthorpe-Forrestania project in Australia" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
