Training | 2009.07.03
An invitation to reoffend | Libby Brooks
The short-term prison sentence is a disaster for offenders and society. But there are alternatives
It was with a heavy heart that I read of Alan Johnson\'s pledge this week to revive the state crusade against antisocial behaviour. Our new home secretary was concerned that the government had been "coasting" on the issue. The prospect of more rhetoric about yob culture leaves me weary. But it\'s further troubling because another spike in Asbo use will inevitably cause an increase in one of the most individually corrosive, socially useless and economically indefensible elements of our criminal justice system: the short-term prison sentence.
Antisocial behaviour orders , the high noon of New Labour\'s respect agenda, with their absurdist conditions (not to wear a hat, not to utter a particular expletive in public, not to approach a certain bridge when suicidal) seem to me designed to be breached. And, in a dangerous legal blurring, breaches of this civil instrument are dealt with by criminal sanction, often leading to brief periods in custody.
Currently, 65% of Britain\'s prison population is serving sentences of 12 months or less. If Asbos offer a fast track for young, grossly disadvantaged men into the prison system, then short-term custody traps them in a revolving door of offence and reoffence. This is not an argument against prison. It is an argument against the costly, superficial palliative of locking away the most vulnerable among us for periods of time that render rehabilitation meaningless.
Asbo refuseniks are only a minor constituency of a group that, it bears repeating, makes up more than half of all prisoners. We\'re not talking about serious, violent criminals but shoplifters, the homeless and those who petty-thieve to fund a habit. According to the latest briefing from the Prison Reform Trust , published tomorrow , about half have mental health needs, while a quarter are drug- or alcohol-dependent.
These are problematic individuals who undoubtedly un-civilise our streets. But the sanction and support they need can never be provided by the present response of aimless deterrence. Short sentences barely give the authorities time to assess an inmate\'s needs. But even a limited spell in custody does enduring damage – the fracture of family bonds, loss of accommodation, the stigmatising record on future job applications. Somebody serving less than 12 months is not even allocated a parole officer, and is cast back into the community with a derisory grant of £46 to tide them over until their benefits kick in two weeks later. If this is not an invitation to reoffend, I don\'t know what is.
There is an alternative. Community sentencing is still underused, but its efficacy is increasing. By the last tally, reconviction rates for those sentenced to under 12 months were almost twice those of offenders given alternative sentences for similar offences. Last year, 55,771 people successfully completed community payback sentences, which translates into over eight million hours of labour benefiting local areas.
Still, hand-wringing over socially excluded minor offenders gains little traction with a government that is all too aware of the boost its perceived light touch on nuisance crime gives to the BNP. Which is why the campaign Make Justice Work has been smart in commissioning the first independent cost-benefit analysis of short-term sentencing versus community alternatives.
The results are astonishing. It estimates that the country would have saved almost £1bn had drug-using offenders in custody for 12 months or less been given residential treatment under community sentencing. The annual savings for the first six years after conviction would have been £60m-£100m. Compare the £2.3bn price tag of the latest prison building programme.
The full analysis will be released on Monday, at a launch set to be attended by Dominic Grieve, the shadow justice minister. His junior, Edward Garnier, has spoken positively about community sentencing, though the Conservatives\' latest prison policy paper fixates alarmingly on the need for recognisable uniforms for offenders working locally.
Given the apparent inevitability of a Tory administration next year, it\'s important to interrogate their policies in advance. Jonathan Aitken , who headed a report on prison reform for the Centre for Social Justice in March, believes that the party is more willing than ever to consider alternatives to custody, though he notes that progressive thinking does not always transfer into government.
The Scottish parliament is putting through legislation to embed a presumption against custodial sentencing below six months – a genuinely radical step that neither Conservatives nor Labour are yet willing to subscribe to.
As Roma Hooper, of Make Justice Work, says: "Short-term sentencing is a waste of money and also disingenuous to victims." Because it\'s nobody\'s justice if your bag-snatcher is back on your estate after three months inside, having received zero addiction treatment, just sharper criminal tutoring.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/[...]5/prison-asbo-sentence-justice
