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A view of Colchester Magistrates' Court
PLANS to double the length of jail sentences that magistrates can hand out are “a knee-jerk reaction” and will worsen the prisons overcrowding crisis, lawyers warned today.
The government is considering giving magistrates the power to pass sentences of up to one year, twice the length of jail term they can currently hand down, in a bid to reduce the number of prisoners held on remand, according to reports.
About a fifth of the prison population are suspects being held on remand, and a third will either go on to be cleared and released or will not receive a jail term.
The announcement of a Women’s Justice Board should be cautiously welcomed, writes SABINA PRICE, but we need to see a recognition that our prison system is in crisis and disproportionately punishes some of the most vulnerable people in society
