Most people already think that prison sentences are too soft. But the new Labour government is planning to release prisoners even earlier. Under the plans, people will be released after serving just 40% to 43% of their sentence. Keir Starmer says that “We’ve got too many prisoners.”
It would seem to me that one of the reasons why prisoners who had a longer sentence re-offend less is because they are older on average when they come out. If a 20 year old has 6 months, he can still be 20 when he gets out. If he gets 10 years, he'll be 30, and probably less of a hell-raiser! I wonder if the same pattern of lower re-offending after longer sentences still holds true if you account for age as well?
As to the sentence for a given crime being lighter when the defendant has more prior offenses, here's an off-the-cuff thought from an American:
It makes me wonder if those defendants with more prior offenses are being charged with several crimes at once. Doing so would be normal in the US. But piling on charges and then delivering an appropriate total sentence will mean that each individual charge appears to have earned an unusually light sentence.
The alternatives you mention are all medium-term solutions (ie they will take maybe a year or two to take effect). Would you not agree that right now, the government (just like its predecessor) has no choice but to cut inmates' sentences short?
It would seem to me that one of the reasons why prisoners who had a longer sentence re-offend less is because they are older on average when they come out. If a 20 year old has 6 months, he can still be 20 when he gets out. If he gets 10 years, he'll be 30, and probably less of a hell-raiser! I wonder if the same pattern of lower re-offending after longer sentences still holds true if you account for age as well?
As to the sentence for a given crime being lighter when the defendant has more prior offenses, here's an off-the-cuff thought from an American:
It makes me wonder if those defendants with more prior offenses are being charged with several crimes at once. Doing so would be normal in the US. But piling on charges and then delivering an appropriate total sentence will mean that each individual charge appears to have earned an unusually light sentence.
The alternatives you mention are all medium-term solutions (ie they will take maybe a year or two to take effect). Would you not agree that right now, the government (just like its predecessor) has no choice but to cut inmates' sentences short?
Good points, well made.