Delay on tougher sentences for knife crime to avoid prison overcrowding

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/17/delay-tougher-sentences-knife-crime

Version 0 of 1.

The justice secretary, Chris Grayling, is expected to delay the introduction of a guideline for minimum six-month jail sentences for those repeatedly caught carrying a knife because of the impact on the rising prison population.

An unusual cross-party alliance of Conservative and Labour MPs is expected to vote on Tuesday to include the knife crime measure in the criminal justice and courts bill despite the opposition of Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats.

Grayling, despite drawing up the proposal himself, is expected to delay its implementation, possibly until next April, just before the general election, because it would "impose a substantial new pressure" on the prison population.

The justice ministry says that no official estimate has been made of the impact of the tougher sentencing guideline, but penal reformers estimate that a further 1,945 adults and 200 children could be jailed if it were implemented.

Grayling told MPs on Monday that there was no prison overcrowding crisis; although jails in England and Wales were holding 84,533 inmates, there was still more than 1,000 "spare places". The prison population has soared by 734 in the past five weeks.

Leaked Cabinet correspondence showed that only six weeks ago Grayling had attempted to win Lib Dem backing for the move by "pledging to implement it only when it is affordable".

Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said in a letter to Nick Clegg dated 29 April: "The ministry of justice's budget is already under significant strain, and this proposal would certainly not be affordable before 2016-17. It is very hard to see how it could be afforded afterwards, given the further fiscal consolidation required in the next parliament.

"I acknowledge the justice secretary's pledge to implement only when it is affordable, but my strong view is that we should not be seeking to put measures on the statute book if they could not realistically be commenced for several years at best."

Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust warned Grayling: "With prison numbers rising rapidly above projected rates, overcrowding at a critical stage and staff numbers falling prey to budget cuts, it is irresponsible to introduce new mandatory prison sentences that are expected to inflate the prison population still further."

The move will be introduced by Nick de Bois, a Tory backbencher. It already has the backing of more than 50 Tory MPs. Conservative ministers have been instructed to abstain in the Commons vote.

The measure is often described as mandatory or an automatic six-month prison sentence for an offender caught with a knife for a second time. But the detailed wording of the de Bois amendment makes clear it is actually a sentencing guideline, which is not binding on the courts.

It says that for repeat offenders the courts must pass a sentence of at least six months on adults and four months on those aged between 16 and 18 – "unless there are particular circumstances which relate to the offence or to the offender and would make it unjust in all the circumstances". This leaves room for judicial discretion. Labour says will support the move precisely because it is not a mandatory or automatic sentence.

The official sentencing guidelines for judges since 2008 have made clear that their "starting point for the lowest level of knife possession amongst adults should be 12 weeks' custody". So the effect of the new measure would be to double that "starting point" when they consider their sentence.

Official figures published last week also showed that claims that three out of four repeat offenders are not jailed for carrying knives are also wide of the mark. The justice ministry figures show that 43% of offenders with at least one previous conviction were immediately jailed in 2012-13; only 3% were given a caution. The average sentence for those jailed for possessing a knife is now 7.4 months.

Since December 2012, anyone over 16 who uses a knife to threaten or endanger others faces a mandatory prison sentence – unless the courts think it would be unjust to impose one.

The Ministry of Justice said it could not comment on the timing of the introduction of the measure or its impact on the prison population.