Prisoners could be released early for good behaviour, Labour sentencing tsar suggests

Prisoners could be released early if they behave behind bars, Labour’s sentencing tsar has hinted.

Former Tory justice secretary David Gauke, who is now leading Labour’s sentencing review, said criminals in Texas are “released earlier” if they obey the rules and complete their rehabilitation courses.

Laying the groundwork for a radical new approach to crime, Mr Gauke added “it’s worth looking at other places where this has happened”.

The former minister said “politicians have operated in a vacuum” by repeatedly calling for more offenders to be locked up.

This, he argued, led to the prison overcrowding crisis.

Mr Gauke has warned the public of a “fundamental shift” in sentencing, adding that justice chiefs have previously believed “the only form of punishment that counts is imprisonment”.

He told GB News: “What you can do is rehabilitate. And there are some jurisdictions like Texas, for example – no one would accuse Texas of being a soft touch.

“They found that their prisons were full, then they took action to essentially reward good behaviour for prisoners who were on long sentences, who had committed serious crimes, but if they behaved, stuck by the prison rules, that they worked, they did the courses, that they will be released earlier.

“And crime in Texas has fallen substantially as well.

“It is worth looking at other places where this has happened, it's worked, and it's contributed towards reducing crime.”

Mr Gauke’s review has so far found that an “over-reliance” on a “tough on crime narrative and belief that longer incarceration is the only effective means of punishment has left the system overwhelmed and ineffective.”

Justice chiefs have been grappling to avoid a law and order crisis behind bars.

Prisons last year had just 80 cells left, meaning police could have had to stop arresting offenders.

Some 1,750 convicts were released under emergency measures to ease the overcrowding crisis behind bars.

Criminals were let out after 40% of their sentence, rather than halfway through, in a desperate bid to prevent the system spiralling out of control.

But another former justice secretary, Alex Chalk, said ministers should “test” European judges and scramble to deport more foreign criminals.

Mr Chalk said: “I sweated blood, metaphorically speaking, to [deport foreign prisoners].

“Part of the issue is that of the 10,500, about 6,000 are not convicted – they’re on remand. Because they're not guilty of an offence, you can't do anything with them.

“Of the remainder, some are from countries where we’re not allowed to send people back; Afghanistan, Syria, for example.

“Now my view is that we should be testing that. We should potentially be more robust about that issue.

“I think we should be testing the ECHR. Is it really correct to say that it is torture or human or degrading treatment to send someone back to parts of Afghanistan? I think that's something we should test.

“We also legislated that if a foreign national offender gets to within 18 months of their release date, we will tell them, ‘sling your hook, get out of the country.’

“I think it was the right thing to do to try and get [foreign national offenders] out of the country.”

Making the case against longer sentences, the review said: “Despite the focus on longer sentences, the literature highlights that longer sentences do not necessarily encourage deterrence or better rehabilitation (for some offenders, longer prison terms increase their likelihood of reoffending).

“In fact, the evidence suggests that interventions and support during and after a sentence are arguably more important in reducing reoffending.”

It added: “As part of this fundamental shift, this review also provides an opportunity to reconsider the fundamental principles around notions of “punishment”.

“The Sentencing Council acknowledges that there are many aspects of criminal justice that offenders experience as punitive, even in the absence of sentences with deterrent intentions.156 For instance, the Sentencing Council notes that there is limited research into offender experiences of fines, and their perceived punitiveness.”

The National Audit Office (NAO) has said current prison expansion plans are "insufficient to meet future demand" amid a projected shortage of 12,400 prison places by the end of 2027, with costs expected to be at least £4billion higher than initially estimated.

The watchdog also said the then government's 2021 pledge to create an extra 20,000 cells spaces by building more prisons, temporary wings and refurbishing existing cell blocks is now not expected to be met until 2031 - around five years later than promised.

As of September, a third (6,518) of the 20,000 had been made available, according to the NAO.

Reasons behind delays include "unrealistic timelines" and overestimating the ability to get planning permission for three out of the six new prisons due to be built.

The plans are now expected to cost between £9.4billion and £10.1billion – least £4.2billion more than 2021 estimates amid a rise in construction prices, the report said.