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 Issue No. 79 Autumn 2018

Paul Laxton
NEW PRISONS MINISTER WANTS TO SCRAP SHORT PRISON SENTENCES
Rory Stewart, the recently appointed Prisons Minister, has called for the use of custodial terms of less than 12 months to be "significantly reduced, if not eliminated." Mr Stewart made the call in front of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee on 26 June, and the following day the Justice Secretary, David Gauke, criticised the inefficacy of short sentences and stated that community penalties resulted in less re-offending. Mr Stewart did make the confusing caveat that short sentences should still be available for serious and violent offenders, though why such a short sentence would be appropriate for that kind of offender he did not explain. Nevertheless, within the Conservative Party, Mr Stewart's comments are the equivalent of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the Castle Church in Wittenburg in 1517. To the Daily Express and the Daily Mail, this is nothing less than heresy and their condemnation was swift. Yorkshire backbench MP Philip Davies, whose apparent influence on penal policy is out of all proportion to his real importance, was heavily quoted.

Back in 2009, it was the Prison Governors’ Association which was hit with the full force of inflammatory headlines when the press discovered a resolution on the Conference agenda calling for the scrapping of short custodial terms. I remember it well, as I had drawn the short straw of proposing the resolution on behalf of the NEC, which conference approved despite media pressure. Last year the PGA repeated the call. It's nice to know that ministers have finally caught up. It is hoped the ministers will be emboldened by the relatively muted response to the shelving of plans to build five new women's community prisons. The number of juveniles in custody has reduced drastically over the last ten years with no serious commentator saying that our society is less safe as a consequence. It's time to take a similar approach with adults, and I for one look forward to the day when only offenders who breach court orders or are otherwise in contempt of court are imprisoned for short terms.

In this issue... You can read another potted history of a penal establishment courtesy of Francis McGilway, this time HMP Bedford. As ever Your Letters are at the very epicentre of the newsletter. You can also find the press release issued by Andrea Albutt, President of the PGA, prior to 2018 Conference, and a report by your editor on a speech given by Phil Wheatley to the same gathering. There are pieces
from regular contributors John Berry and Dave Taylor and a fitting tribute to the late Adrian F.H. Arnold submitted by his stepson. Until his death in May Mr Arnold was one of the last surviving retired governors to have served in World War Two.

Next issue APRIL 2019, Please keep the contributions rolling in.

PAUL LAXTON, EDITOR