Government prison policy is still failing says Heath

2.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 5th Dec 2007

Prison

The Carter Review of the UK's prison system has recommended that judges should consider keeping people convicted of minor offences out of jail unless there is enough space for them. Prison overcrowding should be a factor in deciding sentences for offenders and community sentences may be appropriate instead, the Review says. The Home Office has estimated that the population could top 102,000 in the next decade.

Liberal Democrat Prison's Spokesperson "The key to penal policy is protecting the public and reducing reoffending. Current policy fails both tests. The Carter Review is a thorough piece of work that highlights many of the failures of successive governments in dealing with the crisis in our prisons. However, the review does miss some key points. If a court considers an offender to be a danger to the public then no judge should be constrained by capacity in the system. The Government cannot continue in its belief that this is a problem it can simply build its way out of."