Custody scheme aims to reduce re-offending rates

The first stage of a new pilot scheme, which will see certain categories of prisoner spend half the week back in the community, could significantly reduce re-offending rates, according to the Home Secretary David Blunkett.

The pilot, which would see prisoners spend either weekends or weekdays in prison, and the rest of the week in the community, has been rolled out at two prisons in Lancashire and Lincolnshire today.

The 'Intermittent Custody' scheme will begin with the opening of new prison accommodation at HM Prisons Kirkham and Morton Hall.

Under the terms of the new sentence, custody is served intermittently, for a number of days each week. Offenders will spend the remainder of the week under Probation Service supervision in the community, working, looking for employment or undertaking activities such as community work.

The sentence is aimed at offenders who have committed an offence sufficiently serious to warrant a prison sentence, but who do not present such a risk as to require immediate full-time custody.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said: "A modernised criminal justice system and integrated Prison and Probation services will help us create a virtuous circle of prevention, detection, punishment and rehabilitation.

"Intermittent Custody can play a key role by punishing offenders at the same time as ensuring they undertake programmes to address their behaviour and make reparation to the community."

Minister for Correctional Services Paul Goggins said that the scheme would focus on reducing re-offending by reducing the "negative impact of short custodial sentences".

Many offenders serving short sentences lose their jobs and homes, and their family suffer from the separation, but the Prison Service do not have long enough to work constructively with the prisoner, he said.

"Intermittent Custody is a punitive sentence, but one that increases the chance of avoiding a return to crime afterwards," he added.

The pilot magistrates' courts will have the power to impose an overall sentence of up to six months for a single offence, within which they may order up to 45 custodial days to be served intermittently.

For consecutive sentences in a magistrates' court, the maximum overall sentence will be one year, within which the court may impose a custodial element of up to 90 days.

At Crown Court, for a single offence, the court may impose an overall sentence of up to 51 weeks, within which the maximum custodial element will be 90 days. For consecutive sentences, the Crown Court may impose an overall sentence up to a maximum of 65 weeks within which there can be a maximum custodial element of 180 days.

A prisoner who breaks the terms of licence could be re-arrested and recalled to prison to complete the sentence on the basis of full-time custody.

Evidence of "unsatisfactory performance" within the Intermittent Custody Centre, could see a prisoner returned to court for the sentence to be upgraded to full-time custody.

(gmcg)