Bishop Rachel, in her role as Anglican Bishop for Prisons, is calling on the Government to change the way sentencing policy is decided, ensuring Ministers make life changing decisions based on evidence and expertise.
In a paper released today – A new approach to making sentencing policy, she recommends the establishment of an independent advisory panel on sentencing. Currently Ministers often agree sentencing policy in an emotionally charged context based on a distorted public perception of crime and the safety of our streets. Her aim is to support Ministers to make objective, evidence-based policy in the midst of the pain and loss that comes through crime.
Bishop Rachel said, “Current penal policy is largely failing victims and offenders and indeed their network of relationships and wider society. In proposing a new approach to sentencing, I want to be part of the solution to this problem. We are at a significant point in time regarding sentencing policy and the implications for both the criminal justice system as a whole and the fabric of our society. We need to expand our imaginations while resisting the expansion of prisons and the prison population.”
The model builds upon the House of Commons Justice Select Committee’s 2023 recommendation to set up an advisory body on sentencing, but proposes an additional step to increase transparency in decision-making and to link funding to policy changes.
News Hub
