WIREDGOV

A new report from Policy Exchange yesterday exposes how community sentences are failing to properly penalise or deter offenders and do not command public trust. The study describes current community sentences – with their high breach rates and lack of focus on punishment – as “the weak link in the sentencing chain”.

The report – Fitting the Crime: Reforming Community Sentences – reveals that a quarter of a million crimes a year are being committed by those who recently completed a community order. A speciallycommissioned YouGov poll shows that 60% of the public think community sentences are a ‘soft option’ or ‘weak and undemanding’, and just 5% think they are ‘good for rehabilitation’. Half of the public oppose using more community sentences in their current form instead of short-term prison sentences, and three quarters think community sentences should be focused on payback to the community and punishment.

See more at http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/assets/Fitting_the_Crime_PR.pdf