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'Tough on crime' drive behind prison capacity crisis, says sentencing review report

Crimes in Wales and England have decreased, but the prison population rose by 10% over 25 years, according to the Independent Sentencing Review.
The average custodial sentence has risen to 22.5 months from 16 months since the early '90s, contributing to a prisons crisis.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood requested the Independent Sentencing Review, chaired by former Conservative Justice Secretary David Gauke, to propose reforms addressing the prison system's issues.
The report indicates that reoffending rates are high, with 37.2% of released prisoners likely to offend again, as noted by the Independent Sentencing Review.

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Wales Online

Crimes in Wales and England have gone down but prisoners have increased

While successive governments have tried to show they were "tough on crime" it has resulted in prisons being on the "brink of collapse", a new report has found

4 days ago·Wales, United Kingdom

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BBC News

Prison capacity crisis due to 'tough on crime' policies, says review

The independent review says successive governments made "knee jerk" decisions to issue longer prison sentences.

4 days ago·United Kingdom

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Guido Fawkes

Gauke: 'Tough on Crime' Policies Too Costly to Keep

Ex-Tory-turned-Labour Sentencing Czar David Gauke has released an 'interim' report ahead of Spring's sentencing review claiming that the 'tough on crime'

5 days ago

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GB News

POLL OF THE DAY: Is prison still the best way to teach criminals a lesson?

Longer prison sentences and "tough on crime" policies have pushed England and Wales' justice system to the brink of collapse, according to a new report by the Independent Sentencing Review

5 days ago·London, United Kingdom

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Sky News UK

'Tough on crime' drive behind prison capacity crisis, says sentencing review report

The issue made headlines in September when thousands of people were freed early to ease overcrowding.

5 days ago·United Kingdom

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New Statesman

Penal populism has broken Britain’s prisons

We have a prison capacity crisis. But for emergency measures taken in the autumn, demand for places would have already exceeded supply. Even with these emergency measures, Ministry of Justice forecasts show capacity being breached in spring 2026. In that context, the MoJ commissioned an Independent Sentencing Review, which I chair, to address the crisis. We will set out our recommendations in the spring, but before doing so, it is important to u…

5 days ago

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