Jack Straw: "justice delayed is justice denied"

Speaking on the BBC's Today programme

New Measures To Reduce Prison Population

The Home Secretary Jack Straw told the Commons his dual aim was to speeding up the criminal justice system and easing the overcrowding in jails.

Mr Straw detailed a wide range of measures including an extension of the electronic tagging system currently being practiced in four areas of the country.

For the first time young offenders under 18 will also be tagged.

The Home Secretary Mr Straw also wants to speed up the time it takes to get offenders to trial in order to reduce the time prisoners spend on remand. There will be new arrangements for the preparation of criminal cases so that where a suspect intends to enter a guilty plea then the case can be disposed of within a day or two of the charge.

"To combat delay further, existing custody time limits will be enforced more effectively and we will set new statutory time limits for the preparation of both adult and young offenders' cases." he said.

Magistrates are to be given new powers so that they can hear how a suspect intends to plea before deciding whether the case should be sent on to the Crown Court or not.

He has confirmed that he is to go ahead with measures in the former Tory government's controversial Crime (Sentences) Act for mandatory life sentences for repeat rapists and serious violent offenders.

The Government is also to implement provisions in the Act for minimum seven year jail terms for hard drugs dealers convicted for a third time.

Together, it is estimated that the two measures will produce an increase in the jail population of just 170 by the year 2000.

However, provisions for minimum three year sentences for burglars convicted for a third time, which would have added thousands to the inmate numbers, are being shelved.

Brian Mawhinney, the shadow Home Secretary, said "I welcome your acceptance of large parts of Conservative Government policy." On the particular issue burglars, he said "The public will be disappointed that you are taking such a relaxed and disinterested stance on house burgling."

With the prison population standing at 62,000, and rising at the rate of 250-a-week, far faster than predicted, Mr Straw is desperate to alleviate some of the pressure. He said over the past 18 years crime had doubled but the numbers convicted had fallen by a third.

Mr Straw said his measures, taken together, were intended to ensure that community sentences were seen as a viable alternative to prison.

"Ensuring the effectiveness of community punishments and of community supervision for released prisoners is therefore of the utmost importance," he said. "There should be nothing soft about community punishment. I want to strengthen the credibility of probation supervision."

Related sites
External sites are not endorsed by the BBC
H.M.Prison Service
Prison Reform Trust