Do not go directly to jail

Short sentences may be facing axe | Action needed to cut jail population

- JOHN STEVENS

CRIMINALS facing sentences of less than a year could be given noncustodial terms in a bid to end the merry-go-round of reoffending and reduce the prison population.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, a barrister who is MP for Birmingham Ladywood, is considering the options as the UK is close to running out of cells.

Figures show prison capacity at 88,864, with 87,453 inmates currently locked up.

More than 50% of inmates serving less than 12 months will go on to commit another crime, while the reoffending rate for those given Suspended Sentence Orders is 24%. Experts warn short sentences lead to a revolving door, where criminals go from jail back into the community and back to jail again.