Prisoners in Hull: locked up for most of each day

Reformers Urge Early Release of Prisoners

In an open letter to the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, the Penal Affairs Consortium says the rising prison population is the result of harsher sentencing. More people are being sent to prison, and the average length of sentence has increased for most crimes.

The Consortium - an alliance of 33 organisations concerned with the penal system - says that providing ever more places to meet the rising numbers is like running up an escalator that is moving ever more rapidly downwards.

Richard Tilt: "We would welcome some relief"

The letter sets out a 10-point strategy. It calls on Mr Straw to send a circular to the courts, asking them to exercise restraint in the use of imprisonment.

As a one-off measure, to give the prisons a breathing space, it suggests the conditional release of non-violent offenders, within the last six months of their sentences.

The head of the Prison Service, Richard Tilt, told the BBC's Newsnight programme that overcrowding made it difficult for his staff to do their jobs properly.

He said there needed to be "a very clear public debate" about the use of prison and possible community-based alternative sentences.

Given that prison places cost £24,000 each per year, other options might be far more cost-effective.

Remand prisoners add to the overcrowding

The Consortium also wants measures to limit the time prisoners spend on remand, and reduce the use of custody for women, young offenders, and those who are mentally disturbed.

The Prisons and Probation Minister, Joyce Quin, was asked whether the Government was prepared to instruct judges to impose less harsh sentences.

"We are not prepared to direct the judiciary in a way that would be regarded as gross political interference," she said.

Joyce Quin:

But there was a need for more consistent sentencing from one court to another. It was clear, she said, that certain people should not be in prison.

The letter from the prison reformers came as the Prison Service awaited the written details of a court ruling about its policy ofdetaining thousands of young men and women in adult prisons.

Ms Quin said: "If the law goes against us we are in a position to take particular measures and we will examine the judgment immediately with a view to doing that."

Other related stories:

July 25: Audit Shows Big Rise in Prison Numbers
June 30: New Measures to Reduce Prison Population
June 27: Alarm at Sharp Rise in Women Prisoners

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Penal Affairs Consortium
H.M.Prison Service