Despite the impressive collection of official reports advocating the curtailment of imprisonment and the recent introduction of a wide range of noncustodial alternatives, successive British governments have not expanded the use of significant noncustodial alternatives. This has been largely due to politicians' perceptions of public resistance to a reduction in the use of prison sentences. Politicians have also resisted authorizing spending for the development of new noncustodial options. As a consequence of this political inertia, the prison population is likely to increase. There is a promising prospect for increasing the use of alternatives to imprisonment. The probation service could address prevalent sentencing policies by using presentence reports to recommend noncustodial alternatives and challenge the effectiveness of imprisonment for certain types of offenders. Noncustodial alternatives must be presented by the probation service as more cost-effective than imprisonment, while posing no serious threat to the public.