Latest news with #reoffending
Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Telegraph
Criminal reoffending hits record in UK
Criminals are reoffending at record rates amid claims that they have become 'emboldened' by court delays and low-charging rates. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data show that the average number of further offences committed by criminals after they have been successfully prosecuted has increased to 4.4, the highest figure since records began in 2011, when it was just above three. The proportion of criminals reoffending has remained stable at around 28 per cent but those who are returning to crime are committing more offences within a year of their previous prosecution. The trend has been steadily worsening over the past decade and is true of both adult and juvenile offenders. Adult reoffenders were committing on average 4.2 further crimes. Those under 18, male and female, were committing on average 4.52 further offences, according to the MoJ data. Theft – which includes shoplifting, pickpocketing and stealing personal items – accounted for the high rates of adult reoffending at 54 per cent, marginally down from its record high in 2022. However, the average number of further thefts by an offender prosecuted for the crime hit a record high of nearly seven (6.91). This was 75 per cent higher than all other offences bar fraud. 'Why are youths becoming more criminal?' MoJ statisticians suggested the latest increase in the reoffending rate – a rise of 13 per cent on the same quarter in the previous year – could be partly due to the increased throughput of cases in the courts as judges and magistrates have raced to clear the backlog after the Covid pandemic. However, crime experts suggested other factors were at play and noted that the rise in the courts backlogs to record levels could also have a counter effect. Further crimes committed by reoffenders are counted if they are committed and prosecuted within a year of their previous offence. But some could, in fact, be excluded because of the court delays. 'Court backlogs post-pandemic might mean that this even underestimates the scale of increased frequency of offending because it falls outside the measured parameters,' said Prof Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and senior civil servant. 'There's a story here about persistent juvenile offending and adult theft which any counting changes cannot explain. Why are youths becoming significantly more criminal? 'Youth-justice services and youth-offending teams have over time since they were established in 1998 lost funding and status and been folded into general youth services from local authorities.' Proportion of offences resulting in a charge down According to the MoJ data, around 80,000 offenders were released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction at court, or received a reprimand or warning in the three months to June 2023. Around 22,000 of those committed a proven reoffence within the one-year follow-up period. This is a similar proportion to previous quarters but the number of further offences has been steadily increasing since Covid, doubling from just under 50,000 to nearly 100,000. The age group with the highest reoffending rate was 15 to 17-year-olds, at 32 per cent. This was followed by offenders aged 35 to 39, with a reoffending rate of 31.7 per cent. The rise in the reoffending rate comes as the proportion of offences resulting in a charge has fallen from 15.5 per cent in 2014 to 6.9 per cent in the year to December 2024. Harry Miller, a former police officer and founder and co-chief executive of the campaign group Fair Cop, said the cycle of reoffending stemmed from 'ineffectual and absent' policing which had weakened the deterrent of being caught. 'Criminals are emboldened and so the cycle of offending goes on,' he said.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
I've spent decades inside prisons – here's how I'll fix them for good
I have spent decades in and out of this country's prisons. But I had never seen them as bad as they were when I became prisons minister, almost a year ago. The sad truth is that, on taking office, we inherited prisons that were so full, they were close to collapse. The consequences of this perilous position cannot be overstated. If prisons run out of space, courts are forced to halt their trials. Soon thereafter, the police must stop their arrests. While the idea is terrifying, it is far from fearmongering. This is the precise situation that senior police leaders warned the last government they faced. We took immediate action to stop the crisis on taking office. But we were always clear that our measures would only delay disaster, not end it. Safer streets are fundamental to our Plan for Change, and today we set out how we will, finally, end the crisis in our prisons. And let me be absolutely clear – that must start by building prisons. We are carrying out the largest expansion of the prison estate since the Victorians. We have already opened around 2,400 new places. And we will now invest £4.7 billion over the spending review period, putting us on track for our goal of 14,000 places by 2031. But even at this exceptional rate of construction, we must be honest. The prison population is soaring and we cannot build our way out of this crisis. By early 2028, we will be 9,500 places short. At the same time, it is clear our prisons need to do more to reduce reoffending. All too often, they create better criminals, not better citizens. Eighty percent of offenders are reoffenders, so we need to do things differently. David Gauke's sentencing review has now been published. It provides us with the reforms that can lead to better and more effective prisons, and that can end the cycle of crisis once and for all. The review has recommended a new earned release model. Good behaviour will be encouraged. Bad behaviour will mean offenders stay in custody for longer. This follows a model pioneered in Texas, one I have long admired. As a businessman, I know that incentives work. And this model creates incentives that have transformed prisons, cut crime, all while reducing their prison population. On leaving prison, offenders will now enter a period of intensive supervision in the community. Many more offenders will be put on electronic tags. Community sentences will be toughened and offenders will be made to do unpaid work to give back to the communities they've harmed – such as filling in potholes or cleaning up graffiti. Undoubtedly, this requires more investment. The Probation Service has been underfunded and overworked for far too long. I am proud to say that this is now changing. The government has announced a significant increase of up to £700 million in the Probation Service to better manage offenders in the community. The Gauke review also recommends a reduction in short prison sentences. Offenders who receive these short stays in prison are far too likely to reoffend today. So, while it's important that judges can hand down short sentences in exceptional circumstances, such as to protect victims in domestic abuse or stalking cases, in others we must ask whether there's a better way to make the public safer. So, we will look at expanding the use of intensive supervision courts, which focus relentlessly on the root causes of crime. This can include drug and alcohol treatment, and access to education and accommodation – all the things we know make offenders more likely to get on the straight and narrow. And these interventions are enforced by a court, with the prospect of prison keeping offenders on the right path. I have visited these courts many times before. It is clear to anyone who sees them in action that they turn offenders' lives around for good. And this government will look at every option to better protect the public from crime. That's why we have announced a wider rollout of medication to manage problematic sexual arousal. Chemical suppression has been used across Europe, including Germany, Denmark and Poland, in differing ways with positive results, and we will build an evidence base to see how these can improve public safety. Taken together, these proposals mark a step change in our approach to sentencing and, crucially, they will make sure we never return to the cliff edge on prison places. At the same time, they will mean the criminal justice system works to punish offenders and prevent more victims being created. All of this is crucial to achieving the safer streets we promised the public – and this government will do what it takes to deliver.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Two-thirds of Britons back chemical castration of paedophiles and sex offenders - amid warnings doctors may 'refuse to carry it out if made mandatory'
Two-thirds of Britons back chemically castrating sex offenders - with majority support from supporters of all main political parties, a poll revealed today. Some 67 per cent back the policy while 16 per cent oppose it, after Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood revealed this week that 20 prisons will pilot the idea. Those who voted Reform in the last general election are the most likely to 'strongly' support the idea at 59 per cent, followed by Conservative voters at 44 per cent. Labour voters follow on 37 per cent, then those who backed the Liberal Democrats on 33 per cent, according to the YouGov study of more than 4,500 adults in Britain. However all four parties have a majority of voters who either 'strongly' or 'somewhat' support the policy, compared to those who 'strongly' or 'somewhat' oppose it. It comes as the Government is now exploring whether to enforce the chemical castration on offenders as mandatory, after recommendations from the independent sentencing review to explore its use further to reduce the risk of reoffending. The review led by former justice secretary David Gauke recommended reforms to overhaul the prisons system and make sure there is space to jail the most dangerous offenders after a string of emergency measures to deal with the capacity crisis. It also looked at ways to cut reoffending, with one proposal to consider further use of chemical suppressants, which is currently being piloted in South West England. The Government has also agreed to scrap the use of short sentences of less than 12 months, apart from exceptional circumstances such as domestic abuse cases, and extend the length of suspended sentences from two to three years. The YouGov poll found 58 per cent of Britons oppose scrapping short prison sentences of less than 12 months, while 23 per cent support it. The Probation Service will receive a funding boost of up to £700million by 2028/29 to meet the extra demand of more offenders serving their sentences in the community. Meanwhile there have been suggestions that some doctors may refuse to carry chemical castration procedures. Don Grubin, emeritus professor of forensic psychiatry at Newcastle University, told BBC Radio 4's World at One: 'I don't know quite how it would work and we certainly don't support it. 'We've always resisted suggestions for mandatory prescribing whenever they've been raised. We've always structured the programme as treating a health condition, helping patients manage sexual arousal. 'And that's very much why I think it's been effective - because the individuals who are taking the medication want to reduce the risk.' He added: 'There'd be a lot of resistance from doctors because you'd be asking them really to prescribe not to patients but to reduce risk for society. So they become, in fact, agents of social control, which is something that we've always resisted.' Problematic sexual arousal can be reduced by chemical suppressants and prescribed medication. But the review highlighted the treatment would not be relevant for some sex offenders such as rapists driven by power and control, rather than sexual preoccupation. The Government has not yet confirmed which regions or prisons will be part of the pilot scheme. The Prison Officers' Association represents some healthcare staff who work in jails, and union boss Mark Fairhurst said their members have 'not reported any difficulties when administering this medication' as part of the South West trial. Downing Street also would not be drawn into saying whether it thought chemical castration of paedophiles was a punishment for offenders. Chemical suppressants have been used in Germany and Denmark on a voluntary basis, and in Poland as mandatory for some offenders. Meanwhile Kazakhstan is set to move away from the policy, after dozens of child sex offenders were injected in the country in recent years. The former Soviet state will instead enforce life-means-life sentences for men who rape or violently sexually attack children. The review in the UK said the medications are not widely used in prisons across England and Wales but are currently delivered in prisons through a national programme, jointly commissioned by the NHS and prison service, that provides 'psychologically informed' services for offenders with complex needs, and likely diagnosed with personality disorder. It was first piloted in the UK at HMP Whatton, in Nottingham, in 2007, and was rolled out to six more prisons in 2016. In 2022, the pilot scheme extended the treatment, called clinical management of sexual arousal, to five prisons in the South West of England. Chemical suppressants include hormonal drugs, anti-androgens, which can be prescribed to reduce libido, and non-hormonal drugs such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which can be used to reduce compulsive sexual thoughts. Meanwhile the Justice Secretary accepted reforms to allow some criminals, including violent and sexual offenders, to be released at an earlier point in their sentence if they show good behaviour. Terrorists or the most dangerous offenders serving extended sentences would not be eligible for any early release scheme. The shake-up comes as ministers have introduced a series of emergency measures to free up jail space to 'buy time' before the sentencing reforms are believed to take effect next spring. Ms Mahmood has said despite record prison building expansion, demand for prison places will outstrip supply by 9,500 in early 2028. Latest figures show the prison population in England and Wales is 88,103, just 418 below the record of 88,521, which was reached on September 6 last year.
Arab News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
UK will roll out chemical castration for sex offenders
LONDON: The British government will roll out the use of medication to suppress the sex drive of sex offenders, as part of a package of measures to reduce the risk of reoffending and alleviate the pressures on the prison system, which is running out of space. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Thursday that so-called chemical castration would be used in 20 prisons in two regions and that she was considering making it mandatory. 'Of course, it is vital that this approach is taken alongside psychological interventions that target other causes of offending, like asserting power and control,' she said in a statement to Parliament following the release of an independent sentencing review, Though the review highlighted the treatment wouldn't be relevant for some sex offenders such as rapists driven by power and control, rather than sexual preoccupation, Mahmood said that studies show that chemical castration can lead to a 60 percent reduction in reoffending. It's been used in Germany and Denmark on a voluntary basis, and in Poland as mandatory for some offenders. The recommendation was part of a wide-ranging review led by former Justice Secretary David Gauke. As well as looking at ways to cut reoffending, Gauke recommended reforms to overhaul the prisons system, which is running at near capacity. One of the first things Mahmood did as justice minister after Labour returned to power after 14 years last July was sanction an early-release program for prisoners to free up space. She says she inherited a judicial system that had been neglected for years by the previous Conservative government and set up the review as a means to stabilize it. 'If our prisons collapse, courts are forced to suspend trials,' she said. 'The police must halt their arrests, crime goes unpunished, criminals run amok and chaos reigns. We face the breakdown of law and order in this country.' The review recommended that criminals could be released from prison earlier than they are now for good behavior, while judges could be given more flexibility to impose punishments such as driving bans. It also recommended that sentences of less than 12 months would also be scrapped for tougher community sentences. It also called for the immediate deportation for foreign nationals handed a three-year sentence or less. The review called for higher investment in the probation service to allow officers to spend more time with offenders for their rehabilitation and extra funding for the many more who are monitored with electronic tags in the community. Mahmood responded by giving a 700 million-pound a year for probation within years. 'If the government doesn't put the resources into probation that is necessary, then the risk here is that we won't make progress on rehabilitation that we need, and there will be a public backlash against it,' Gauke said. The prison population in England and Wales has doubled over the past three decades or so to nearly 90,000. That's despite a fall in crime rates and is driven in part by the fact that longer sentences are being handed out amid pressure to be tough on crime. Robert Jenrick, the justice spokesman for the Conservatives, warned that scrapping short sentences would be effectively 'decriminalizing' offenses like burglary, theft and assault. And monitoring tags, he said, are as useful as 'smoke alarms putting out bonfires' in stopping reoffending. In response, Mahmood said that she was clearing up the mess left by the Conservatives and that the government has also embarked on the largest expansion of prisons since Victorian times in the 19th century.
CNN
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
UK will roll out chemical castration for sex offenders
The British government is to rollout the use of medication to suppress the sex drive of sex offenders, as part of a package of measures to reduce the risk of reoffending and alleviate the pressures on the prison system, which is running out of space. In a statement to Parliament Thursday following the release of an independent sentencing review, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said so-called chemical castration would be used in 20 prisons in two regions and that she was considering making it mandatory. 'Of course, it is vital that this approach is taken alongside psychological interventions that target other causes of offending, like asserting power and control,' she said. Though the review highlighted the treatment would not be relevant for some sex offenders such as rapists driven by power and control, rather than sexual preoccupation, Mahmood said studies show that chemical castration can lead to a 60% reduction in reoffending. It's been used in Germany and Denmark on a voluntary basis, and in Poland as mandatory for some offenders. The recommendation was part of a wide-ranging review led by former justice secretary, David Gauke. As well as looking at ways to cut reoffending, Gauke recommended reforms to overhaul the prisons system, which is running at near-capacity. One of the first things Mahmood did as justice minister after Labour returned to power after 14 years last July was sanction an early-release program for prisoners to free up space. She says she inherited a judicial system that had been neglected for years by the previous Conservative government and set up the review as a means to stabilize it. 'If our prisons collapse, courts are forced to suspend trials,' she said. 'The police must halt their arrests, crime goes unpunished, criminals run amok and chaos reigns. We face the breakdown of law and order in this country.' The review recommended that criminals could be released from prison earlier than currently, while judges could be given more flexibility to impose punishments such as driving bans. It also recommended that sentences of less than 12 months would also be scrapped, apart from exceptional circumstances such as domestic abuse cases. It also called for the immediate deportation for foreign nationals handed a three-year sentence or less. The review called for higher investment in the probation service to allow officers to spend more time with offenders for their rehabilitation and extra funding for the many more being tagged in the community. Mahmood responded by giving a 700 million-pound ($930 million) a year for probation within years. 'If the government doesn't put the resources into probation that is necessary, then the risk here is that we won't make progress on rehabilitation that we need, and there will be a public backlash against it,' Gauke said. The prison population in England and Wales has doubled over the past 30 years or so to nearly 90,000. That's despite a fall in crime rates and is driven in part by the fact that longer sentences are being handed out amid pressure to be tough on crime. Robert Jenrick, the justice spokesman for the Conservatives, warned that scrapping short sentences would be effectively 'decriminalizing' offenses like burglary, theft and assault. And tags, he said, are as useful as 'smoke alarms putting out bonfires' in stopping reoffending. In response, Mahmood said she was clearing up the mess left by the Conservatives and that the government has also embarked on the largest expansion of the prison estate since Victorian times in the 19th century.
