Penal populism' has driven justice system close to collapse, says report

Overreliance on prison sentences and the desire to seem "tough on crime" have driven the justice system in England and Wales to the brink of collapse, an official review has found.

- Eleni Courea

"Penal populism" - where longer incarceration is seen as the only effective means of punishment - has contributed to the crisis in the prison system, according to the interim findings of a review led by David Gauke, who was justice secretary for 18 months in Theresa May's Tory government.

The review, which was a Labour manifesto commitment, is examining alternatives to jail including scrapping shorter sentences and keeping more offenders in the community. It is due to conclude in the late spring, with its proposed reforms implemented from early next year.

Gauke said that to address the problems with prison capacity, politicians needed to "have an honest conversation about who we send to prison, and for how long". He said the decision by Labour to release thousands of prisoners early to free up space in jails last year was the result of "decades of haphazard policymaking and underinvestment in the criminal justice system - bringing it to the brink of collapse".