Bishop Helen-Ann responds to the 'Cutting crime: better community sentencing' report during a debate in the House of Lords this afternoon.
My Lords I am glad to take part in this debate and thank the noble lady, Baroness Hamwee for bringing it to enable the Report on community sentencing to be discussed in this House. It’s an honour to follow the noble lady, Baroness Prashar and commend her point about changing the public narrative. I’d also like to welcome the noble Lord, the Minister to his new role and commend his excellent maiden speech delivered on Wednesday for which I was pleased to be present and the wisdom and expertise he brings to his new role. I wish him very well indeed. I also commend the noble Lord, the Minister for the way he dealt with repeating a statement from the other place and taking questions before he had delivered his maiden speech. If I may use a word borrowed from my primary field of expertise, this was a baptism by fire experience!
My Lords, throughout my own ministry in episcopal orders I have gained insights into the value of community-based initiatives supporting the criminal justice system. From experience of supporting indigenous family and kinship initiatives amongst Māori and Pacific island communities in New Zealand, a context where those communities are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, to listening to the distress of young men brought into the youth custody estate in Wetherby Young Offenders often from far away locations, these first-hand insights give support to many of the conclusions of the Report before us today.
I welcome the Government’s commitment to a sentencing review, creating a framework consistent and clear to the public. This was a point the noble Lord, the Minister made in his remarks on Wednesday. At the heart of the report before us today, there is a clear message: the need for more community sentencing. As the report outlines, growing evidence points towards community sentences being far more effective in reducing re-offending than short custodial sentences.
Many of those in the criminal justice system suffer from addiction and mental health issues. These are health issues that require treatment – treatment that does not come in the form of a locked cell. The tailored sentences that community sentencing provide enables offenders to attend necessary treatment and rehabilitative programmes whilst remaining in their existing support networks, which can be a vital part of their rehabilitation.
My Lords, I believe that those who commit an offence must take responsibility and face just consequences for their actions. The theme of justice is one that is central to a number of faith traditions, particularly the Judaeo-Christian tradition. With this perspective in mind, justice is not simply about punishment – it also transforms and restores. I believe that this view of justice is reflected in community sentencing – it ensures that justice is served whilst providing offenders with restoration through rehabilitative services.
I would particularly like to focus on the vital support that local organisations provide. The report emphasises the value in partnering with the third sector, and how community sentences are “more effective when the Probation Service is a fully engaged member of local partnerships”. My experience of witnessing the work of charities in Newcastle only confirms this.
The Oswin Project offers people with criminal records in the North-East of England second chances through mentoring, training and employment. Their initiatives include Cafe 16, located in Newcastle Cathedral, staffed by a team of prison leavers who are led, trained, and mentored by the Project. The café sells baked goods that are supplied by the charity’s bakery in HMP Northumberland, further providing prisoners with new skills that they can use following their release.
There are hundreds of incredible organisations such as these across the country, who understand local needs and opportunities, and are working to break the cycle of reoffending. I therefore encourage greater devolution in the probation services and more local commissioning of rehabilitative services.
The faith-based sector also does invaluable work in supporting offenders to transform their lives. Junction 42 works across the North East of England to empower individuals to take control of their lives and become active contributors to their communities.
When speaking with the director of Junction 42 ahead of this debate, she shared the need for charities working in this sphere to receive longer-term and consistent funding from the Government. This echoes the evidence shared in the report, as longer-term funding allows charities to plan ahead and results in a lower staff turnover, providing offenders with greater stability and consistent relationships. I ask the minister, what plans the Government has to increase the length of contracts with third sector partners, particularly smaller charities? I note that the noble lady, Baroness Hamwee referred to this area of concern in her opening remarks.
"It is cheaper and safer to reduce crime or to reform criminals than to build gaols". These were the words spoken by a Minister of Justice in New Zealand in the 1880s, when introducing legislation establishing probation – nearly 30 years before probation services were introduced in this country. More than 130 years later, his words still ring true. I understand that there is an immediate issue of overcrowding in the system that needs urgent action, but I am concerned that there should not be too great a focus on building more prisons rather than making long-term reforms to the system.
My friend, the Right Reverend Prelate, the Bishop of Gloucester, expresses her regret that she could not be here today to participate in this debate. She recently travelled to the Netherlands to learn about the prison system there. In due course, she hopes to share her reflections from this trip with the House.
There is much opportunity to learn from overseas, but the noble Lord the Minister has rightly said that we need to get our own house in order in a way that will work effectively for our context. Much can be learned by examples of best practice already being implemented in our own system. I highlight the specialised women’s services that provide tailored wraparound support that have proven to be effective in reducing re-offending. I ask the minister what assessment has been made of the success of this holistic approach and whether the Government plans to extend this model for all probation services?
If we do not think long-term about the rehabilitation of those in the criminal justice system, and increasing the use of community sentencing, we will continue to have this same debate in the years to come. My Lords, our criminal justice system needs bold reform – we need to not solely punish but also provide offenders with support to turn their lives around. I am sure that the noble Lord, the minister will agree with me that our system needs such reforms, and that he understands the bold action that it requires. I offer him and his colleagues all my support in this mission.