00:00We inherited a prison system on the point of collapse.
00:04This is not a change that we wanted to make, it was the only option left on the table
00:08because the alternative would have seen the total collapse
00:11of the criminal justice system in this country.
00:13We would have seen the breakdown of law and order
00:16because courts would not have been able to conduct trials
00:19and the police would not have been able to make arrests
00:21and that's not something that I was prepared to sit back and allow to happen.
00:25So this is a difficult decision and I understand that people will be concerned
00:29but we've tried to implement this change in a way that maximises public protection.
00:34So there are robust exclusions to this policy
00:37and that includes all sexual offences are excluded from the changes that we are making
00:42as are all offences of serious violence, terror offences
00:46and some offences connected to domestic abuse.
00:48So we've taken every measure available to us to roll out these changes
00:53in a way that protects the public and meets the concerns that I know some people will have
00:57but this change had to be made, it was the only option on the table
01:01and that is because the alternative to not making this change
01:04would have been to allow the prison system to collapse
01:07and therefore to allow law and order in this country to collapse.
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