The appointment of James Timpson as prisons minister is a hopeful signal that Labour plans to take a socially liberal, reformist approach to criminal justice, placing more emphasis on rehabilitation and less on punishment. That would be very welcome. Mr Timpson runs what he calls a “paternalistic family business”, the Timpson group of shoe repair and key-cutting shops. About 10% of his workforce are former prisoners, and Mr Timpson appears eager to get stuck into the huge challenges of overcrowding, high reoffending rates and failed reintegration.
There is no argument about the severity of the current crisis. Jails in England and Wales are 99% full, and release dates have been brought forward repeatedly to relieve pressures. In May, the governor of HMP Wandsworth resigned following a highly critical inspection. Last year a prisoner escaped from Wandsworth; more recently a prison officer was charged with misconduct in public office after a video appeared to show her having sex with a prisoner in a cell.
