Government must make changes to deliver value for money in our justice system

 15.01.2010

This week heralds the publication of a major new report from the House of Commons  Justice Committee.  It offers a stiff and unrelenting reminder to the state of this country’s odd economic attitude towards criminal justice.  Never before has this country faced such an enormous bill for a crime level which is in fact dropping.  It strikes me that when
trying to save money in our own lives the key features of any good budget is that what we purchase is value for money and works (either tastes good or doesn’t break in  five minutes).  Our country’s existing budgetary approach  to less crime and less victims runs counter intuitive to this. The system of locking up people in prison for short sentences when  they are not dangerous and could be punished in the community is neither value for  money nor does it work.

As a cross party report, surely this should provide government with a neutral and objective opportunity for change:  reverse the prison building programme, invest in communities and stop politicising criminal justice policy. This  report shows what works – trust it and act on it.

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