Lord Woolf urges boost in community sentencing
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales has told MPs that the public need convincing about the benefits of community sentencing.
Giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, Lord Woolf said that non-violent crime normally warrants a community sentence rather than jail.
Prison must be used in an effective way, he said, adding that sentencing should not be dominated by what would satisfy “public clamour”, but rather by victims of crime and evidence that sentences protect the public.
Adding that he is concerned by high prisoner numbers, Lord Woolf stressed that judges should be very selective about the use of prison, calling for evidence to prove to people that community sentencing can be effective and keep the public safe.
He acknowledged that the public does not always have confidence in community services, but referring to a specific case of a young man who had never been in trouble, with a job, who confessed to crime, Lord Woolf stated that had the public been in full possession of the facts they would not have demanded custody.
The Lord Chief Justice suggested that weekend or part-time prison residence could be used as a half-way option.
Lord Woolf is also chair of the Sentencing Guidelines Council, which is drawing up guidelines for the appropriate tariffs for crimes.
Lord Woolf said he hoped the Council will reduce media and political pressure on sentencing, and ensure that the public is better informed about the reasons for sentencing decisions.
He was critical of past political clamour over sentencing, saying it is not constructive. Sometimes Parliament feels it is “absolutely essential” to react to public outrage about a specific case, he continued, and he hoped that the code would prevent this. In the past, legislation has not necessarily been the most constructive way of dealing with such cases, he concluded.
All ministerial interventions to the Council will be made public.
There have been a number of clashes between Home Secretary David Blunkett and Lord Woolf on sentencing. Perhaps the most serious was in June last year when Mr Blunkett suggested that some judges had “lost their marbles” and pledged “life should mean life” for certain crimes.
Hitting back, Lord Woolf said that politics and the judiciary should be separate and sharply criticised any suggestion that judges’ power should be limited.
Many working in the sector have warmly welcomed Lord Woolf’s comments on community service.
Professor Coyle, of the International Centre for Prison Studies at London University said Lord Woolf’s call to get the public behind community sentences is “extremely important” as they need constant reassurance that such sentences are not a let-off for criminals.
Professor Coyle said England and Wales had the highest rates of imprisonment in the EU at 140 inmates per 100,000 of population, compared with an average of just over 100 per 100,000.
Rates of crime and police detection were no higher than elsewhere, he said, and there were more people in prison simply because courts in the UK sent more people down for longer.
Professor Coyle said Lord Woolf was in a “unique” position to comment, having written a report on prison overcrowding following the Strangeways riots in 1990, and his remarks were timely.
“There is evidence that when community penalties are explained to the public, the public are very much in favour of them . [But] society and the community need to be continually reassured that these are not soft options.”
He continued: “Victims and the public will be much better served if prison is reserved for those who have committed more serious offences.”
