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From "Making Bad People Worse" to "Prison Works": Sentencing Policy in England and Wales in the 1990s

NCJ Number
166319
Journal
Criminal Law Forum Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: (1996) Pages: 639-671
Author(s)
E Baker
Date Published
1996
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This article explains punitive sentencing policy reversals in England and Wales, based on the viewpoint that criminals sent to prison are no more likely to reoffend than those given community sentences.
Abstract
A government white paper was released in 1996 that estimates sentencing reforms will add 10,800 more persons to the prison population by the year 2011. Accommodating this increase will require constructing 12 new prisons, rebuilding and reopening two other detention facilities, and constructing additional units at existing establishments. The new punitive attitude toward offenders is not restricted to custodial sentences, and the new sentencing policy reverses the earlier policy of promoting community-based punishment. Components of England's Crime Bill are analyzed as they pertain to mandatory sentences and sentence effectiveness. Reasons for the shift in sentencing policy are considered, along with constitutional dimensions of changes in sentencing and a more punitive criminal justice agenda. A critique of "flaws" in the Crime Bill is presented. 128 footnotes