Short-term sentences of 12 months or less must be scrapped now

Responding to the Prisons Minister’s comments that jail sentences of six months or less should be scrapped, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperon Ed Davey said:

Short-term sentences perpetuate the crisis in our overcrowded prisons, cost millions and don’t work to prevent crime. Robust community-based sentences are far more successful in reducing reoffending and the chance of more people becoming victims of crime.

Indications from the Prison Minister that he agrees is testament to the campaigners who have long made this case. However, the Prison Minister does not go far enough. Liberal Democrats demand better.

Our goal must be to transform prisons into places of rehabilitation and recovery, to cut re-offending and make our communities safer. That means urgent action now to scrap prison sentences of 12 months or less, not just six months or less.