Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Why the Courts should use imprisonment less

Professor Andrew Ashworth, CBE
All Souls College, The University of Oxford

Report

The prison population in England and Wales has doubled in the last twenty years. The average length of sentence is up over the same period and life sentences have risen from 8% of the total to 17%. Currently we have more ‘lifers’ than the rest of Western Europe put together. Crime has reduced but there is no evidence to support the idea of ‘more prison, less crime’. Germany, Sweden and Finland have the lowest prison rates and low crime. Mandatory minimum sentences force courts into imposing too heavy terms of imprisonment. Youth sentences are down, with courts using the full range of alternative measures. No crime wave has resulted. These were just some of the arguments in favour of radical reform of sentencing guidelines in this country. A wide-ranging talk analysed the meaning of imprisonment and the situation in various crime categories, female crime in particular. Some arguments were compelling but there was a notable absence of detailed answers. Press attitudes were seen as one bar to any move away from present practices, where papers could be expected to characterise reduced prison use as ‘a criminals’ charter’. During a vibrant Q&A session, Professor Ashworth suggested that ‘it will take a courageous politician to take on the Daily Mail and make the right decisions’.

[First in the series on Justice]

Ken Hutson

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