Latest news with #reoffending
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
'Radical changes to prisons needed to cut reoffending'
A bishop is calling for radical changes to the criminal justice system to reduce reoffending. The Church of England Bishop for Prisons, the Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, believes more community sentences should be used for the "80% of people jailed for non-violent crimes".Bishop Treweek, who is also Bishop of Gloucester, is gathering teenagers' views on how the system should be reformed ahead of a meeting with MPs in December. She said: "I'm never condoning crime but we need to look at the big picture and live somethings radically differently and that's where the voices of young people are going to be so crucial." She is urging 13 to 18 year olds to share their views about the prison system in her online before Christmas, Bishop Treweek will then take a group of young people to Houses of Parliament to speak and present the survey findings to MPs and peers. "We have the highest prison population in western Europe, we have to ask ourselves why," she said."Everything seems to be geared towards the fact our prisons are overcrowded, therefore, the logic goes: 'We need to build more prisons', 'we need to punish people harder'."Yet, when people come out of these very overcrowded prisons, the rate of reoffending is really high."She added that if you can keep people, who are not a danger to the public, in the community, connected with family and friends, their place to live and their job, that is "going to transform our communities".Being "obsessed with punishment" does not change things, and we need a "big holistic look" at the system, she added. "If we want to change people and transform our communities we have to think far more creatively. "If you lock someone up for five, 10, 15 years, but actually you don't have anyway of helping people transform their lives, when they come out, they won't be changed," she said. Bishop Treweek said "creative ideas are coming from young people"."I'm really hopeful that, as they get older and take up positions in society, they will be the ones shaping the future of our criminal justice system," she added.
RNZ News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
PM defends boot camps after teen appears in court, removed from scheme
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said there had been challenges in the community transition part of the military-style youth boot camp pilot, but that was expected and ideas for improvements would be considered. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi The Prime Minister is defending the government's boot camps despite one participant being removed from the pilot following a court appearance, saying they are some of New Zealand's most challenging young people but "I don't think we should give up on them." Oranga Tamariki confirmed on its website on Monday that one of the teenagers who was part of the pilot was "withdrawn" and "transferred to Corrections custody." The agency would not comment further because the issue was before the court, but its acting deputy chief executive of youth justice services Iain Chapman said the team who worked closely with the participant during the pilot was "disappointed with the outcome for this young person." "We are continuing to provide support and work alongside their whānau through this transition to the adult jurisdiction." Chapman said the focus now was ensuring the best outcome for the eight remaining participants in the final weeks of the pilot, which concludes next month. The military style academies for youth have come under scrutiny by opposition parties for a lack of transparency , particularly the reoffending rate of the teenagers. Reducing reoffending was a primary goal for the boot camps. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the military style academies had been a "good initiative" and one of several things the government was trying to do to reduce reoffending, but he didn't expect everyone coming through the programme wouldn't reoffend. "We obviously said we've put in place a pilot," he said, and would consider how that played out when finalising the legislation. "There were some really good learnings from my take in the residential component in particular, and there was some challenges, as we had expected, in terms of the community transition." He said that information would be digested. The government could consider potentially extending the residential period he said, and what more could be done about the community transition period. He said the government would continue to "perfect" the boot camps to see how they could work better and "have more impact." "We are dealing with some of New Zealand's most challenging young people. But I don't think we should give up on them." He said the government was giving them an opportunity to "change their lives" and "put it on a different trajectory than where it's heading". "If they choose not to take that opportunity that's ultimately on them, but we are going to give them every opportunity to choose a better pathway." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
PM on youth boot camps after participant withdrawn: "I don't think we should give up"
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said there had been challenges in the community transition part of the military-style youth boot camp pilot, but that was expected and ideas for improvements would be considered. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi The Prime Minister is defending the government's boot camps despite one participant being removed from the pilot following a court appearance, saying they are some of New Zealand's most challenging young people but "I don't think we should give up on them." Oranga Tamariki confirmed on its website on Monday that one of the teenagers who was part of the pilot was "withdrawn" and "transferred to Corrections custody." The agency would not comment further because the issue was before the court, but its acting deputy chief executive of youth justice services Iain Chapman said the team who worked closely with the participant during the pilot was "disappointed with the outcome for this young person." "We are continuing to provide support and work alongside their whānau through this transition to the adult jurisdiction." Chapman said the focus now was ensuring the best outcome for the eight remaining participants in the final weeks of the pilot, which concludes next month. The military style academies for youth have come under scrutiny by opposition parties for a lack of transparency , particularly the reoffending rate of the teenagers. Reducing reoffending was a primary goal for the boot camps. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the military style academies had been a "good initiative" and one of several things the government was trying to do to reduce reoffending, but he didn't expect everyone coming through the programme wouldn't reoffend. "We obviously said we've put in place a pilot," he said, and would consider how that played out when finalising the legislation. "There were some really good learnings from my take in the residential component in particular, and there was some challenges, as we had expected, in terms of the community transition." He said that information would be digested. The government could consider potentially extending the residential period he said, and what more could be done about the community transition period. He said the government would continue to "perfect" the boot camps to see how they could work better and "have more impact." "We are dealing with some of New Zealand's most challenging young people. But I don't think we should give up on them." He said the government was giving them an opportunity to "change their lives" and "put it on a different trajectory than where it's heading". "If they choose not to take that opportunity that's ultimately on them, but we are going to give them every opportunity to choose a better pathway." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Telegraph
Criminal reoffending hits record in UK
Criminals are reoffending at record rates amid claims that they have become 'emboldened' by court delays and low-charging rates. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data show that the average number of further offences committed by criminals after they have been successfully prosecuted has increased to 4.4, the highest figure since records began in 2011, when it was just above three. The proportion of criminals reoffending has remained stable at around 28 per cent but those who are returning to crime are committing more offences within a year of their previous prosecution. The trend has been steadily worsening over the past decade and is true of both adult and juvenile offenders. Adult reoffenders were committing on average 4.2 further crimes. Those under 18, male and female, were committing on average 4.52 further offences, according to the MoJ data. Theft – which includes shoplifting, pickpocketing and stealing personal items – accounted for the high rates of adult reoffending at 54 per cent, marginally down from its record high in 2022. However, the average number of further thefts by an offender prosecuted for the crime hit a record high of nearly seven (6.91). This was 75 per cent higher than all other offences bar fraud. 'Why are youths becoming more criminal?' MoJ statisticians suggested the latest increase in the reoffending rate – a rise of 13 per cent on the same quarter in the previous year – could be partly due to the increased throughput of cases in the courts as judges and magistrates have raced to clear the backlog after the Covid pandemic. However, crime experts suggested other factors were at play and noted that the rise in the courts backlogs to record levels could also have a counter effect. Further crimes committed by reoffenders are counted if they are committed and prosecuted within a year of their previous offence. But some could, in fact, be excluded because of the court delays. 'Court backlogs post-pandemic might mean that this even underestimates the scale of increased frequency of offending because it falls outside the measured parameters,' said Prof Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and senior civil servant. 'There's a story here about persistent juvenile offending and adult theft which any counting changes cannot explain. Why are youths becoming significantly more criminal? 'Youth-justice services and youth-offending teams have over time since they were established in 1998 lost funding and status and been folded into general youth services from local authorities.' Proportion of offences resulting in a charge down According to the MoJ data, around 80,000 offenders were released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction at court, or received a reprimand or warning in the three months to June 2023. Around 22,000 of those committed a proven reoffence within the one-year follow-up period. This is a similar proportion to previous quarters but the number of further offences has been steadily increasing since Covid, doubling from just under 50,000 to nearly 100,000. The age group with the highest reoffending rate was 15 to 17-year-olds, at 32 per cent. This was followed by offenders aged 35 to 39, with a reoffending rate of 31.7 per cent. The rise in the reoffending rate comes as the proportion of offences resulting in a charge has fallen from 15.5 per cent in 2014 to 6.9 per cent in the year to December 2024. Harry Miller, a former police officer and founder and co-chief executive of the campaign group Fair Cop, said the cycle of reoffending stemmed from 'ineffectual and absent' policing which had weakened the deterrent of being caught. 'Criminals are emboldened and so the cycle of offending goes on,' he said.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
I've spent decades inside prisons – here's how I'll fix them for good
I have spent decades in and out of this country's prisons. But I had never seen them as bad as they were when I became prisons minister, almost a year ago. The sad truth is that, on taking office, we inherited prisons that were so full, they were close to collapse. The consequences of this perilous position cannot be overstated. If prisons run out of space, courts are forced to halt their trials. Soon thereafter, the police must stop their arrests. While the idea is terrifying, it is far from fearmongering. This is the precise situation that senior police leaders warned the last government they faced. We took immediate action to stop the crisis on taking office. But we were always clear that our measures would only delay disaster, not end it. Safer streets are fundamental to our Plan for Change, and today we set out how we will, finally, end the crisis in our prisons. And let me be absolutely clear – that must start by building prisons. We are carrying out the largest expansion of the prison estate since the Victorians. We have already opened around 2,400 new places. And we will now invest £4.7 billion over the spending review period, putting us on track for our goal of 14,000 places by 2031. But even at this exceptional rate of construction, we must be honest. The prison population is soaring and we cannot build our way out of this crisis. By early 2028, we will be 9,500 places short. At the same time, it is clear our prisons need to do more to reduce reoffending. All too often, they create better criminals, not better citizens. Eighty percent of offenders are reoffenders, so we need to do things differently. David Gauke's sentencing review has now been published. It provides us with the reforms that can lead to better and more effective prisons, and that can end the cycle of crisis once and for all. The review has recommended a new earned release model. Good behaviour will be encouraged. Bad behaviour will mean offenders stay in custody for longer. This follows a model pioneered in Texas, one I have long admired. As a businessman, I know that incentives work. And this model creates incentives that have transformed prisons, cut crime, all while reducing their prison population. On leaving prison, offenders will now enter a period of intensive supervision in the community. Many more offenders will be put on electronic tags. Community sentences will be toughened and offenders will be made to do unpaid work to give back to the communities they've harmed – such as filling in potholes or cleaning up graffiti. Undoubtedly, this requires more investment. The Probation Service has been underfunded and overworked for far too long. I am proud to say that this is now changing. The government has announced a significant increase of up to £700 million in the Probation Service to better manage offenders in the community. The Gauke review also recommends a reduction in short prison sentences. Offenders who receive these short stays in prison are far too likely to reoffend today. So, while it's important that judges can hand down short sentences in exceptional circumstances, such as to protect victims in domestic abuse or stalking cases, in others we must ask whether there's a better way to make the public safer. So, we will look at expanding the use of intensive supervision courts, which focus relentlessly on the root causes of crime. This can include drug and alcohol treatment, and access to education and accommodation – all the things we know make offenders more likely to get on the straight and narrow. And these interventions are enforced by a court, with the prospect of prison keeping offenders on the right path. I have visited these courts many times before. It is clear to anyone who sees them in action that they turn offenders' lives around for good. And this government will look at every option to better protect the public from crime. That's why we have announced a wider rollout of medication to manage problematic sexual arousal. Chemical suppression has been used across Europe, including Germany, Denmark and Poland, in differing ways with positive results, and we will build an evidence base to see how these can improve public safety. Taken together, these proposals mark a step change in our approach to sentencing and, crucially, they will make sure we never return to the cliff edge on prison places. At the same time, they will mean the criminal justice system works to punish offenders and prevent more victims being created. All of this is crucial to achieving the safer streets we promised the public – and this government will do what it takes to deliver.
