By Rose Tedeschi
The prison population in the UK is at breaking point. The maximum capacity of UK prisons is 89,619; currently there are 88,521 people in custody. The Ministry of Justice’s latest projections estimate that the prison population could increase to as much as 114,800 by March 2028.
Just days after entering office, Labour announced its plan for an early release scheme after discovering the ‘shocking’ state of the prisons crisis. The scheme will mean eligible prisoners will be released after serving 40% of their term, rather than the previously required 50%. This excludes those serving sentences for certain sexual, violent, domestic abuse, and national security offences.
Part of this scheme has already come into force; those serving less than five years were released on 10 September, and those serving five years or more will be released on 22 October. This will result in the release of more than 20,000 prisoners over several months.
Labour has also promised 14,000 more prison places and introduced emergency measures in some areas in the North and Midlands. Offenders in these areas will only be summoned to court once it has been determined that there is a prison cell for them, should they be remanded to custody. Part of the long-term measures announced include accelerating the building of prisons and acquiring more land for new prison sites.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is desperately seeking a solution to the prison overpopulation and reoffending crisis. She is reportedly keen to implement a Texas style ‘smart sentencing’ system, whereby prisoners are able to earn credits to reduce their sentences for good behaviour.
She also announced that Labour will launch a new body, the Women’s Justice Board, with the goal to ‘reduce the number of women going to prison, with the ultimate ambition of having fewer women’s prisons’. As part of this Mahmood wants to introduce shorter or community-based sentences for non-violent crimes.
These reforms and proposals almost entirely focus on the lack of and need for prison spaces and increasing capacity, not on the real issue: the increasing prison population. This is the result of years of heavy-handed ‘law and order’ governments, while over a decade of austerity inflicted savage cuts to public services, deepening the social alienation which cause crime to develop.
This is compounded by the criminalisation of drug users, particularly from among the poor and minority population, and the draconian anti-protest laws which have seen Just Stop Oil protestors jailed for over 5 years. Labour’s dilemma is that, while they see the need to reduce the number of prisoners, their gut instinct to give in to ‘common sense’ arguments hammered home by the right-wing press is to lock ‘offenders’ up for as long as possible.
The ‘justice’ system enforces the will of the capitalists who rule society. We need to overthrow the rich and powerful who only look out for their own financial interests and install a workers’ government and workers’ courts, which can focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment and create a justice system worthy of the name.