Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders

Cm. 7972

Author:

Ministry of Justice (MoJ)

Publisher:

TSO (The Stationery Office)

Price: £21.25

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'Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders (Cm. 7972)' sets out plans for fundamental changes to the criminal justice system and addresses the three priorities of punishing offenders, protecting the public and reducing reoffending.

This Green Paper seeks to set out an intelligent sentencing framework, coupled with more effective rehabilitation. Despite a 50% increase in the budget for prisons and managing offenders in the last ten years, almost half of all adult offenders released from custody reoffend within a year as well as 75% of youth custody offenders.

These proposed reforms will seek to make prisons places of hard work and industry. There will be a greater use of strenuous, unpaid work as part of a community sentence alongside tagging and curfews. There will also be a greater focus on the enforcement and collection of fines, and a much stronger emphasis on compensation for victims of crime.

Six new rehabilitation programmes will be piloted on a payment by results basis. Treatment rather than prison will be the option for the less serious offenders with mental illness and drug dependency. The proposals also seek to introduce more straightforward sentencing alongside greater transparency from the courts.

The publication is divided into seven chapters, covering the following areas:

(i) Punishment and payback;

(ii) Rehabilitating offenders to reduce crime;

(iii) Payment by results;

(iv) Sentencing reform;

(v) Youth justice;

(vi) Working with communities to reduce crime; and

(vii) Consultation, along with two annexes.

Extent	92 pages	ISBN	9780101797221
Size	A4	Price	£21.25
Format	Paperback	Published	07 Dec 2010
Availability	Colour copy: 3 - 5 days	Delivery	Delivery options and charges