Repeat offenders

SIR – It is clear to me, as the lead Catholic bishop for prisons in England and Wales, that conditions in prisons are letting down the most vulnerable and failing to make society safer.

The 250 Catholic prison chaplains report time and again seeing the same individuals pass through the system, a system failing to rehabilitate them.

In response, the report that I commissioned, A Journey of Hope, published today, explores how the current crisis might be addressed by an ambitious reform of sentencing.

Both indefinite and short-term sentences result in immense harm for the most vulnerable subset of prisoners, who include addicts, women and those suffering with ill mental health. The recommendations in A Journey of Hope begin by placing victims at the heart of criminal justice and examining the role that restorative justice can play in reducing crime.

It goes on to challenge the Government to curb sentencing inflation, to reduce the use of short custodial sentences and to invest in community services as a more effective method of rehabilitation.

A criminal justice system that works and offers a genuinely rehabilitative environment does not constitute a soft approach to crime.

Reforming sentencing practice will require political courage. However, unless the Government is willing either to increase prison funding or reduce the prison population, and to direct more funding to mental health services, the crisis will continue and ultimately deteriorate.

Rt Rev Richard Moth

Bishop of Arundel & Brighton Pease Pottage, West Sussex