Pact responds to reports about new measures to reduce prison overcrowding

In response to reports that the Government is expected to introduce emergency measures to release prisoners less than halfway through their sentence, Andy Keen-Downs, CEO of Pact said: 
 
“We would fully support this essential measure to deal with the emergency-level crisis in prisons left behind by the last government. It is a serious step and not a decision to be taken lightly but the consequences of failing to act decisively now could be nothing short of catastrophic. 
 
“The capacity crisis is the result of political decisions stretching back decades and a conveyor belt of ministers who have largely failed to display the courage required to deliver change. Prisons have endured years of funding cuts at a time when we have locked up more and more people for longer and longer. 
 
“The appointment of James Timpson as Prisons Minister is an excellent move and indicates that the new Government is serious about taking a fresh, evidence-led approach to reform of the criminal justice system. 
 
“The new Prime Minister has pledged to reset the relationship between the Government and the third sector. Now is the time to make good on that pledge and to call on the vast experience and expertise of the charities in the criminal justice sector.”