Press Release - Managing offenders on
short custodial sentences
10 March 2010
More could be done to rehabilitate prisoners
serving short sentences and reduce their risk of re-offending,
according to a National Audit Office report today. The National
Offender Management Service (NOMS), responsible for managing such
prisoners, has little information on the quality, cost or
effectiveness of its rehabilitation activities.
More than 60,000 prisoners serve sentences of under 12 months each
year at a cost to NOMS of around £300 million. These prisoners
present a significant challenge to NOMS: they tend to have more
previous convictions than other offenders, with an average of 16
previous convictions each and, as a group, they also have a high
level of homelessness, joblessness and drug and alcohol problems.
NOMS is successfully keeping the vast majority of short-sentenced
prisoners safe and well - a notable achievement in a time of prison
overcrowding - but is currently struggling to manage this group
effectively, in part because most spend six weeks or less in
prison.
Although short-sentenced prisoners are kept secure, safe and well,
the provision of daytime activity for them is generally inadequate
to meet HM Inspectorate of Prisons' standards for a healthy prison.
This is partly because of overcrowding and constraints of physical
space, which mean that there are not enough activity spaces for all
prisoners. Despite the cycle of re-offending and NOMS' target to
reduce this, the NAO found that one half of short-sentenced
prisoners are not involved in work or courses and spend almost all
day in their cells. Prisons offer a range of courses and other
activities to reduce re-offending; but waiting lists are too long
and, with the exception of drug services, prisons often do not
match prisoners with appropriate assistance.
Only a small proportion of prison budgets is spent on activity
intended to reduce re-offending by prisoners on short sentences,
despite the fact that 60 per cent of such prisoners are reconvicted
within a year of release, at an estimated economic and social cost
of £7 billion to £10 billion a year. The NAO argues that NOMS could
achieve greater value for money by improving prisons' work with
these offenders.
The Ministry of Justice and NOMS are developing a new strategy to
improve the management of prisoners who are sentenced to less than
12 months, but, with pilots still to be completed, these bodies
have yet to set out in detail the activities and prisoners to be
prioritised and the measures of effectiveness, including
cost-effectiveness, and targeted outcomes they will adopt.
Mr Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said
today:
"NOMS is successfully keeping the vast majority of
short-sentenced prisoners safe and well - a notable achievement in
a time of prison overcrowding - and in this respect it is
delivering value.
"Achieving NOMS' goal of reducing re-offending by
short-sentenced prisoners is challenging both because there are so
many prisoners and because of the few weeks they have in custody.
However, it is reasonable to expect progress towards that goal.
More coherent plans for prisoners, tailored to reducing their risk
of re-offending would be a good first step. As they take their new
strategy forward, NOMS and the Ministry have the opportunity to put
the management of short-sentenced prisoners on a better
footing."
Notes for Editors
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk. Hard copies can be
obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702 3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Amyas Morse, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 900
staff. He and the NAO are totally independent of
Government. He certifies the accounts of all Government
departments and a wide range of other public sector bodies; and he
has statutory authority to report to Parliament on the economy,
efficiency and effectiveness with which departments and other
bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 15/10
All enquiries to Mark
Anderson, NAO Press Office:
Tel: 020 7798 7558
Mobile: 07796
937119