A report for Civitas by Professor Ken Pease, titled Prison, Community Sentencing and Crime, argues that hope of cutting expenditure on prisons can only be achieved by ignoring the impact on victims of crime.
The findings challenge previous statements by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, who has called for fewer and shorter sentences on cost grounds.
Pease uses Home Office estimates to show that 13,892 offences resulting in convictions could be prevented by keeping offenders on short sentences in prison for one extra month.
He estimates that if every successful conviction represented a conservative 5.9 offences committed by the offender, the cost of imprisonment would be the same as the costs of crime prevented.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
