User Voice welcomes confirmation of the sentencing review led by the Rt Hon. David Gauke which we sincerely hope prioritises rehabilitation and tackling the causes of crime as effective routes to increasing public safety.

Prison causes harm to both those in the system and to communities, because punishment alone doesn’t change people.

As a charity led by people with convictions, we know from our work with people with lived experience across the justice system that prison is the ultimate social service, and so we urgently need effective responses that reduce crime and make communities safer.

For example, from our engagement work, we’ve seen that over 7 in 10 women said that being a victim of abuse led to them entering the justice system. A trauma informed approach in the community to transform the lives of women with convictions is therefore desperately needed.

Additionally short custodial sentences with no support set people up to fail and meaningful work that repairs harm caused, as well as interventions like restorative justice are far more effective. With its cost benefits and one to one relational approaches Probation must also be invested in far more systematically, and related to this prison recall, which has hugely adverse economic impacts also needs a major overhaul.

It is clear that the criminal justice system needs bold reform, and we are now at a crisis tipping point that we must respond to. As a key part of this the Government must harness the talents and insights of those impacted by the justice system to improve it both in this sentencing review and beyond.