Police Commissioner reacts to Gauke report on prisons and probation

Donna Jones, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight has reacted to the Independent Sentencing Review, published earlier today.

David Gauke, the former Lord Chancellor, chaired the review into the prison overcrowding crisis.

Following the report’s publication, Donna Jones said:

“David Gauke’s report makes recommendations around ways to keep people out of prison. I’m the National Criminal justice lead for Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales and I’m really concerned for victims and communities about keeping them safe.

“The government are looking at keeping people out of prison – for some people rehabilitation is exactly the right thing and as long as that rehabilitation is meaningful, I’m supportive of it. However, serious sexual offenders and serious violent offenders must go to prison for the protection of others, in particular the victims that they have offended against.

“As Police and Crime Commissioner my job is to be a voice for you, to be a voice for victims and for communities to keep them safe. I am also pushing for foreign national offenders who have been convicted of an offence, to be deported as quickly as they can.

“The government are considering for foreign national offenders to be deported back to their country of origin once they have served 12% of their sentence, to serve their remaining sentence in that country – that can’t come quickly enough. The prison population is going up by 3,000 prisoners a year, while 12% of the prison population in England and Wales is made up of men who are foreign national offenders, which is costing British taxpayers £540 million a year.

“That is half a billion pounds that we could be putting into other much needed public services. I am pushing for foreign national offenders, once convicted, to be deported to their country of origin as quickly as they can be. Secondly, I’m pushing for more meaningful rehabilitation, particularly for people who are committing violent offences and those of domestic abuse.”

You can read the full report here

Independent Sentencing Review – Final report and proposals for reform