A new independent review has taken place and talks on the possibility of allowing sex offenders to be chemically castrated in a bid to reduce growing prison population.
The plans have been criticised by some, including the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales Nicole Jacobs, saying: “The government will be sending a clear message to domestic abusers that they can now offend with little consequence,”.
The independent review, led by the former justice secretary David Gauke, was commissioned by the government amid an overcrowding crisis in prisons in England and Wales.
It has made a series of recommendations with the aim of reducing the prison population by 9,800 people by 2028.
In the proposal the government will implement a “progression model” – which would see offenders who’ve behaved well in prison only serve a third of their term in custody, before being released.
The measure will apply to people serving standard determinate sentences, which is the most common type of jail term, being served by the majority of offenders.
It will be based on sentence length, rather than offence type. Meaning that sex offenders and domestic abusers serving sentences of under four years, could all be eligible for early release dates.
The policy will mean inmates serve only a third of their sentence in prison, a third on licence in the community, with the remaining portion under no probation supervision at all.
If the offender commits further offences in the “at risk” – or final – stages of their sentence, once out of prison, they would be sent back to jail to serve the remainder of the original sentence, plus time inside jail for the new offence.
Chemical castration trial may be extended:
The government will also further the use of medication to suppress the sexual drive of sex offenders, which is currently being piloted in southwest England.
The review recommended that chemical castration “may assist in management of suitable sex offenders both in prison and in the community”.
Ministers are to announce plans for a nationwide rollout, and will first expand the use of the medication to 20 prisons across England.
The justice secretary is also considering whether to make castration mandatory as it’s currently voluntary.
Mr Gauke, the chair of the independent sentencing review, told Sky News that “drugs that reduce sexual desire” will not be “appropriate for every sexual offender”.
“I’m not going to claim it’s the answer for everything,” the former justice secretary said. “This is about reducing the risk of re-offending in future.
“There are some sex offenders who want to reduce their desires and if we can explore this, I think that is something that’s worthwhile.”
However, Mr Gauke stressed that the government needs to focus on “reducing crime overall”.
