Former Lord Chief Justice calls for end to longer prison sentences amid overcrowding Source: Sky News
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00:00Our position is very clear. We have increased the prison population and it is promised to
00:07increase by a very substantial proportion over the next few years and we need to stand
00:12back and work out are we using our resources properly. We think there is an urgent need
00:20for a review of what has happened over the last 20 years to get everything back to a
00:26proper sense of proportion. Well yes you talk about a proper sense of proportion but to
00:33what extent have sentences got longer and why has it happened? I think there are two
00:38reasons for it. First of all we have been changing sentencing legislation on and off
00:46over the last 15 to 20 years without really looking at the effect as a whole. For example
00:54the sentences for murder were significantly increased, people have been required to spend
01:00longer of the sentence in prison and all of these have a cumulative or other effect and
01:07you need to stand back and ask yourselves have we got the resources balanced correctly?
01:15Has the increase in sentencing reduced crime? Has it had the right effect? And secondly
01:22if you have prisons that are overcrowded they cannot be used and cannot function as
01:29intended namely to provide places of rehabilitation and so we have a system that isn't as a result
01:37of what has happened not working properly.