An end to decades of government hypocrisy on prisons is in sight – if Labour can seize the chance

One of the new Labour government’s first actions was to appoint James Timpson as prisons minister, in a signal that they were taking the prisons crisis seriously. One of James Timpson’s first actions was to establish a sentencing review led by former Conservative justice minister David Gauke, in a signal that he was looking for new thinking to end decades of failed prison policy. 

I think we can say that David Gauke has done his job – he has clearly called out the hypocrisy of successive governments who, while ramping up rhetoric and legislation that they knew would lead to sharp increases in the prison population, simultaneously targeted the Ministry of Justice for cuts that ensured that there would never be enough capacity, control or rehabilitation in our prisons. 

He has also meticulously punctured the argument that these hollow tough-on-crime announcements are effective in reducing crime and protecting victims. And he has laid out a framework for the government to end 40 years of over-reliance on prison.  

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What he hasn’t done is set out detailed proposals for ground-level implementation of his recommendations – primarily the much greater use of community sentences, and a system whereby prisoners can qualify for early releases through good behaviour and progress made while in prison.

This is probably wise, as this involves decisions on spending and management – so the ball is now back in the court of James Timpson and his boss Shabana Mahmood. They will have to move quickly to turn the department’s spending review settlement into concrete actions that deliver on the Gauke vision – reducing pressure on prison numbers, and making a step change in rehabilitation and reducing reoffending. 

The early signs are good – the government has quickly accepted almost all of the Gauke recommendations, and has been able to announce that capital (£4.7 billion for prison building) and revenue (£700 million per year for expanding probation work) funding is available. Whether this will be sufficient, and how well it is spent, is the next question, but at least we are not talking about more cuts. 

So we are now in a crucial moment – a generational shift in prison policy is agreed, there is some financial room for manoeuvre, and some good people in charge. This has not happened before in my 40 years working in the sector.  

We know that prisons contain some dangerous people that the public need to be protected from. They also contain some people who are determined to continue a lifestyle of crime and dishonesty. The Prison Service currently struggles to control these individuals because the levels of overcrowding and understaffing means that the bad guys are in the ascendancy. 

But most prisoners have the potential to turn their lives around – these are not the scary monsters you see on the TV crime shows. They are people who have had difficult lives – neglect, abuse, trauma, in childhood, or mental health and addiction problems in adulthood. They commit a lot of crimes, and often frustrate attempts to help them, but they are capable of changing the direction of their lives. At Forward Trust we know this because we have helped thousands to make these transformational changes, and hundreds of them now work with us as valued colleagues. 

The new direction in prison policy gives us a chance to ramp up these opportunities to turn away from crime. The Gauke review rightly identifies women prisoners, and those struggling with addictions – to alcohol, drugs or gambling – as suitable priorities for this diversion. We already have models of intervention that have been shown to be effective with these groups – the challenge now is to make these available to the right people at the right time. 

In every prison, this means the presence of incentives-based rehabilitation programmes on dedicated wings. Prisoners should be expected to comply with and complete these programmes to qualify for the early release scheme proposed in the Gauke report. And this will be appropriate, because completion of these programmes is a great filter – you can’t complete unless there is evidence that attitudes and behaviours are changing, and you are therefore a lower risk. 

And in the community, there has to be access to meaningful rehabilitation as an alternative to prison. For women prisoners, Gauke recommends the expansion of the existing network of women’s centres. And for those whose offending is driven by addiction, there will need to be investment in a range of drug, alcohol and gambling treatment interventions that are tough enough to ensure compliance, while being effective in helping participants to put a life of crime and addiction behind them.  

Justice ministers now need to find a way to put these alternatives in place, but two things are sure – these investments will be cheaper than buying more prison places, and they will be the drivers of reductions in future reoffending rates that we all need to see. 

Mike Trace is CEO of The Forward Trust and oversaw the creation of the first national prison drug strategy as the government’s former ‘drug czar’. 

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