Jail shortage 'decides sentences'

Mike Fuller said the number of prison places influenced sentences

Confidence in the criminal justice system is being undermined because of the lack of prison places, Kent's chief constable has said.

Mike Fuller said criminals were being released from sentences early or avoiding jail altogether.

"There is a perception that sentencing policy is determined more by the number of prison places than the seriousness of the offence," he said.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it had increased prison places since 1997.

Mr Fuller cited two examples of offenders who were given bail by courts when Kent Police believed they should have been remanded in custody.

Serious offences

"One man was alleged to have committed 100 previous offences of burglary.

"He got a suspended sentence, and the following day was arrested committing another burglary," he told BBC Radio 4.

Another case involved a man given bail while he was awaiting sentence for 255 thefts from motor vehicles.

He failed to appear in court, was arrested and again failed to turn up.

"There are other, more extreme examples of people accused of more serious offences including arson and witness intimidation of a police officer," he said.

He added that criminal justice policy needed to be slanted more towards the interests of victims.

"At the moment a lot is centred on the interests of the offender," he said.

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He admitted the government was building more prisons, but added that the problem could have been foreseen.

"At the moment police forces have targets and objectives around increasing offenders brought to justice.

"My force has increased the offenders brought to justice by nearly 1,000 a year.

"That is a requirement on the force that really doesn't help overcrowding of the prisons."

A spokesman for the MoJ said that since 1997 crime had fallen by a third and the way criminals were dealt with by the justice system had been transformed.

"Public confidence in the criminal justice system has increased significantly in recent years and we are working hard to bring more offenders to justice and to improve services to victims and witnesses," he said.

"The Government will always provide enough prison places for serious offenders, those who should be behind bars: the most violent, serious and persistent.

"Since 1997 the government has increased prison capacity by over 23,000 places.

"Our aim is to achieve an overall net capacity of just over 96,000 by 2014."

"These comments simply do not reflect the reality. Average sentence lengths have increased in the last 10 years, while the prison population has increased by around 2,000 places a year.

"This is part of a comprehensive strategy that has seen crime fall by a third and by a greater amount for burglary."