00:00Court Minister Sarah Sackman spoke about the proposal of banning criminals from sporting
00:08games and pubs in lieu of prison time. She said that the bans, as well as mandatory work
00:14for offenders, were very much part of the mix, amid an ongoing government review of
00:19prison sentences. The review, which was chaired by Tory former Justice Secretary David Gauke,
00:25was launched in October in order to consider ways to punish offenders outside of prisons
00:30in a way that could ease the overcrowding crisis. Prisons across England and Wales are
00:36severely overcrowded, with the prison population projected to increase to over 100,000 by 2028.
00:44This overcrowding is due to a combination of factors, including a growing prison population
00:48and a lack of new prison capacity. But why are prisons overcrowded? Well, this is due
00:54to multiple factors. These include tougher sentences and some sentences getting longer.
00:59A rise in violent and sexual offenders is also a factor. One in three prisoners are
01:04now guilty of a violent offence in England and Wales, the highest figure since at least
01:102015. In an attempt to aid prison overcrowding a few months ago, the government released
01:151,100 more prisoners early. Offenders serving more than five years were released on licence.
01:21This scheme excluded those convicted of serious violence, sex crimes and terrorism. Speaking
01:27about the proposal, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said that the Lord Chancellor
01:32launched the Independent Sentencing Review to ensure that sentences punish offenders
01:37and protect the public, encourage prisoners to turn their backs on a life of crime and
01:42explore greater use of punishment outside of prison. The response added that
01:47the review, which is led by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke, will report on their findings
01:52in the spring. The government is reportedly speeding up the deportation of foreign criminals
01:57at the moment, using a squad of specialist staff across the prison estate in order to
02:02free up spaces in overcrowded jails. At the moment, ministers are grappling with 73,105
02:10backlogs of court cases. A Tory MP said that the department had simply accepted the high
02:16record of Crown Court backlog, which would continue to grow after the recruitment of
02:21more than 20,000 police officers and a rise in complex cases in the nation.
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