UK’s prison overcrowding crisis fuelled by ‘tough on crime’ talk, Labour’s new tsar finds

David Gauke, former Conservative justice secretary, has said longer jail terms have been a ‘knee-jerk’ policy response to show government action

The UK’s prison overcrowding crisis has been fuelled by politicians‘ attempts to seem “tough on crime”, a major government review has found.

David Gauke, the former Conservative lord chancellor chairing Labour’s sentencing review, said longer jail terms have been a “knee-jerk” policy that has brought the prison system “dangerously close to collapse”.

The Independent Sentencing Review report is a stark break from decades of tough rhetoric from politicians, who increased sentences for individual crimes driving up the prison population. Mr Gauke said Labour must break from this “penal populism” as the political drive to appear tough on crime “does not deliver justice for victims, it fails them”.

The report, published on Tuesday, said that ways to cut crime and reduce offending had been overlooked. The Independent Review panel will report back in spring with suggested reforms to the justice system.

This interim paper found that England and Wales have one of the highest prison populations in western Europe, leading to resources being diverted to cope with overcrowding rather than reducing reoffending and improving safety.

At the end of 2024, there were more than 85,000 prisoners in the adult estate – an increase of more than 40,000 since 1993, the report found. The probation system is similarly stretched, with 240,497 people under probation supervision by September 2024.

David Gauke has been put in charge by the Labour government to lead a review into prisons (PA)

Mr Gauke said: “Last year we were confronted with the consequences of decades of haphazard policymaking and underinvestment in the criminal justice system – bringing it to the brink of collapse.

“For too long politicians have operated in a vacuum, increasing sentencing for individual crimes without considering the knock-on impact on the wider system.

“It is time to accept this does not deliver justice for victims, it fails them.”

The report concluded that increasing the prison population is not “the most effective measure to reduce crime”. It added: “Too often decision-making has been based on an approach that punishment is all that matters, and that the only form of punishment that counts is imprisonment.”

The Howard League for Penal Reform said the report supports what the charity has been saying “for many years”. Writing in The Independent, Andrea Coomber KC said the review showed the government “has recognised that it can’t build its way out of the current prison crisis.”

She referred to previous prime ministers from David Cameron to Rishi Sunak who have “doubled down on the punitive rhetoric” that contributed to a prison system in crisis. She added that ministers needed to “level with the public about what prisons can and can’t achieve”.

Tom Wheatley, president of the Prison Governors’ Association, said the report summarised what “people who work in and around the justice sector have been saying for considerable periods of time”.

He said: “The review picks out correctly that we have become increasingly likely to send people to prison for longer, based on a drive from the way politicians interact with the media and the public, not based on evidence.” Mr Wheatley urged the review panel to be bold in their recommendations in spring, and said a “sea-change” would only come if the government opted for serious reform.

Pavan Dhaliwal, chief executive of Revolving Doors, a charity that tries to tackle reoffending, welcomed the report, saying that the current justice system is “failing to address the root causes of crime”. Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association, said: “It is crystal clear that as a society we lock up too many people, many of whom would be better served if their addiction, mental health problems, poverty and other issues were addressed in the community.”

The review comes after Labour began freeing thousands of inmates early in September 2024, in an attempt to curb jail overcrowding in England and Wales. The proportion of sentences which some prisoners must serve behind bars was temporarily reduced from 50 per cent to 40 per cent.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously said he had no choice but to cut jail time for prisoners as part of urgent efforts to tackle the overcrowding crisis.

Analysis found England and Wales have one of the highest prison population rates in western Europe (PA)

Mr Gauke added: “It is clear that in order to address the capacity issues we face, we must have an honest conversation about who we send to prison, and for how long.”

The report also flagged that despite the increase in putting criminals behind bars, the latest data shows that those leaving custody have the highest reoffending rates at 37.2 per cent. This goes up to 56.9 per cent for those with short sentences of less than a year in prison.

Introducing new offences and changes including mandatory minimum sentences and extended sentences has driven up terms, the report added, with many of the changes in response to tragic events that have led to inconsistencies and left victims with “a sense of injustice”.

It added: “While the report is clear that real-world cases should drive necessary change, the knock-on impact of such changes has not always been considered.”

Recall of offenders on licence back to prison was also noted as a key reason for the hike in the prison population, rising from less than 100 in 1993 to nearly 13,000 at the end of December 2024.

The review will also look at the administration of sentences, including at what point offenders are released from prison, how long they are supervised in the community, and recall.