NO - GRAHAM BEECH, DIRECTOR, CRIME CONCERN
There are a significant number of people who are currently being sent to prison who shouldn't be there. They don't pose a danger to the community and all the indications are that by sending them to prison they are more likely to reoffend when they come out.
Prison is expensive andexcludes people from their families and communities, makingrehabilitation more difficult. It's not just people convicted of shoplifting clogging up prisons. They are bulging with other people who shouldn't be there.
NO - FRANCES CROOK, DIRECTOR, HOWARD LEAGUE FOR PENAL REFORM
There are much better ways of dealing with people who shoplift, depending on who and why they have done it.Chaotic drug abusers who steal to feed a habit need rehab and support.Children who are doing it to test authority need to get caught and apologise. Shops should make more effort to protect themselves from theft.The real problem comes with professional cartels, often using trafficked women and children.The bosses of these cartels should face stiff penalties for a modern form slavery.
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