Our prisons are so broken that we can't carry on – we must seize the opportunity to fix them

There are many controversial issues in England and Wales today, but for the first time in a long time, prison reform is not one of them. This year saw the number of people behind bars reach a record high, prompting an emergency early release scheme to free up cells, while conditions deteriorated and four more jails were placed in special measures. Politicians of all stripes would describe the prison system as a public service in crisis. They may disagree on how we fix it, but everyone agrees that change is needed.  

Prisons in England and Wales are severely overcrowded, with more than half of them holding more people than they are designed to accommodate. Inspection reports reveal how rising numbers have contributed to dire conditions such as rat infestations and mould, and left many people spending hours on end locked inside their cells with nothing to do. 

If someone is sent to prison, we should do all that we can to help them turn their life around and move on from crime. Instead they are living in squalor and being denied access to activities that help rehabilitation, such as exercise, education, employment and training. 

These problems are likely to become even harder to solve if ministers press ahead with their plans to open up 14,000 more prison places by 2031. 

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We cannot build our way out of this crisis. The billions of pounds earmarked for opening new jails would be better invested in securing an effective and responsive probation service, working to cut crime in the community.  

Probation has a key role to play. The Ministry of Justice’s own evidence indicates that short prison sentences are ineffective. Sentences of less than 12 months without supervision on release are found to be associated with higher levels of reoffending than community orders. And this makes sense: if someone needs support to move away from non-violent crime, they will have better access to the services that can help them if they are being supervised in the community. 

This is why the forthcoming review of sentencing, to be led by former justice secretary David Gauke, is so important. We can start to put things right if we shift our focus away from the length of sentences and towards what people are doing while serving them.   

We could begin by investing in staff recruitment, retention and training; providing better support through the gate to help people prepare for safe release; and ensuring there is accommodation for people at the end of their sentences so they are not released to homelessness. 

We have reached a crossroads. The prisons crisis is so severe that we cannot carry on as we have, and the Gauke review presents a rare chance to change direction. We must seize it with both hands. 

Unless we see concerted action to make sentences proportionate and reduce demand on the criminal justice system, the crisis in prisons will deepen and leave an even bigger mess for future generations to tackle.   

Andrea Coomber is chief executive of Howard League for Penal Reform

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