The government is at risk of looking soft on crime with a plan to releasing foreign criminal early to help tackle the prison crisis, a former Lord Chief Justice has warned.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk announced a package of measures last week to ease the pressure on Britain’s overcrowded jails, including a presumption of suspended sentences for anyone jailed for less than 12 months.
One of the ideas is to release foreign-born criminals up to 18 months early so that they can be deported.
But in a significant intervention, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd – who was Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales between 2013 and 2017 – has warned the plan could send the wrong message to criminals.
“The policy could be seen as reducing the punishment of overseas criminals in order to ensure that UK citizens can continue to be sent to prison”, he said.
“In addition, the policy risks reducing the deterrents for overseas citizens to commit crime, potentially undermining confidence in the criminal justice system.”
Members of the House of Lords debated the government’s plan on Thursday before supporting it.
Lord Thomas called it “regrettable” that the government has not provided key pieces of data to support the plan, including estimates of how many prisoners would be affected and an assessment of the impact on deterring crime.
“That the Department has provided no analysis of these and other operational risks is disappointing and means that it is impossible to assess properly whether the change is appropriate”, he said.
Lord Bellamy, a junior justice minister, issued an apology in the House of Lords for missing information in the government’s initial publications.
He said around 300 foreign prisoners a year could be affected by the decision to extend the scope of the early release scheme, though an accurate number is difficult to determine as it depends on factors including the Home Office capacity to carry out deportations.
Those affected by the scheme would not be jailed on arrival at their home country, and they are then banned from returning to the UK.
Lord Bellamy said he "anticipates" the policy would not apply to sexual offenders and those convicted of serious violent crimes.
Lord Hogan-Howe, a former Met Police Commissioner, told Parliament the numbers of prisoners involved in the early release plan “is not an awful lot” compared to the bulging prison population of around 88,000.
He suggested at close look at the consistent demand for tougher sentencing from politicians is needed, echoing calls from MPs for an investigation into the “dysfunctional” public view of criminal justice.
Sir Bob Neill MP, the chair of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee, earlier called for a new approach to criminal justice, saying: "Ever increasing sentences are not the answer."
The government has pledged to create 20,000 extra prison places but so far only around a quarter have been delivered.
A series of policies to toughen prison sentences have put extra pressure on jails, while the government has sought to blame Covid and last year’s strike by barristers for the crisis.
