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| British judges told not to jail criminals if prisons full |
| By The Times |
| Published: 01/17/2005 |
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Jail sentences are to be linked to whether there are enough prison places - for the first time in British history - under government proposals that provoked outrage last night. Judges will be expected to consider the state of prisons and the numbers already in them when deciding if a criminal should be jailed or given a community sentence. The move, long supported by Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice, was part of a Bill that included plans for a huge increase in the maximum fines magistrates can impose. Magistrates will be able to impose a maximum fine of £15,000 compared with the current £5,000. A new system of day fines will be created which will link an offender's punishment to disposable income as well as the seriousness of the offence. The Bill also allows lie-detector tests to be used on sex offenders who have been released from jail on license. The plans to link the sentences handed to criminals to the availability of prison spaces is intended to prevent overcrowding in jails and keep the prison population below the government ceiling of 80,000. Last night the Opposition said that it was an attempt by the Government to overcome its failure to build enough new prison places to meet a predicted rise in jail population. David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, condemned the move unveiled by Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, in the Management of Offenders and Sentencing Bill. He said: "For the first time in British history, sentencing will be decided by economics rather than the merit of an individual case. "It is a disgraceful violation of our criminal justice system and will lead to thousands of criminals getting shorter sentences, or no sentence at all, because the Government has failed to provide enough prison places." Under the proposals the Sentencing Guidelines Council, an independent body that formulates sentencing policy for the courts, will be required to take prison and other resources into account. The council, chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, will be required to consider the cost of different sentences, their effectiveness in preventing reoffending and the resources available now and in the future for prison and community sentences. Kevin McCormac, secretary to the Sentencing Guidelines Council, welcomed the proposals. He said that the council was already required under the Crime and Disorder Act to take into account the cost differences between sentences and the relative effectiveness in preventing reoffending. But the Act had not made clear the position on resources. |
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