The Institute for Government has published its latest report tracking the performance of the criminal justice system since the 2024 election.
The report states that since Starmer’s government came into office, violence and deaths in prisons remain high and the probation service is still failing to deliver adequate risk assessments or manage offenders effectively in the community.
The following infographic captures some of the main points.
The report urges the Government, now, to focus on building capacity and capability in probation while maintaining enough space in prison both to avoid more emergency releases and to sustain lower rates of violence and increase purposeful activity.
Key recommendations include:
- Avoid imposing unnecessarily restrictive and punitive licence conditions on people on probation, to encourage trusted relationships with probation supervisors and reduce administrative recalls.
- Increase the number of probation practitioners at a steady pace, avoiding large staff influxes (and likely exits) as far as possible.
- Provide probation delivery units with more flexibility to hire or commission specialist services, such as housing and mental health advisers, to provide timely access to specialist support.
- Reintroduce home detention as a first-line means of managing the prison population, should it become necessary.
- Develop a sentencing model that is transparent and understandable for the public and victims, with an explicit custodial period.
- Emphasise purposeful activity in prisons, to try to drive down violence, self-harm and drug use.
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