The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Mike Penning)
I will today publish the response to the Justice Committee’s first report of Session 2014-15: “Crime Reduction Policies—a co-ordinated approach?”
The Government are proud of their strong record at reducing crime. The most recent figures from the crime survey for England and Wales show that overall crime has fallen by 62% since its peak in 1995, and is now at the lowest level since the survey began in 1981.
The Government have put robust measures in place to ensure that crime continues to fall; offenders receive robust punishments; and that the unacceptably high rates of reoffending are driven down. We are also placing high-quality education at the centre of youth custody to prevent future offending.
The public and victims deserve a fair and transparent justice system that effectively deters and punishes offenders, and tackles the stubbornly high rates of reoffending and this is the primary focus of our transforming rehabilitation reforms.
We are opening up the market to a diverse range of providers to ensure that we get the best out of the public, voluntary and private sectors, at the local as well as national level. Bids to run the community rehabilitation companies were received at the end of June and we look to have a healthy competition in all contract package areas, having received over 80 bids, with an average of four bidders per area. The new payment incentives we will introduce for market providers will also ensure a relentless focus on reforming offenders, giving providers flexibility to do what works but only paying them in full for real reductions in reoffending.
Under our reforms, for the first time in recent history virtually every offender released from custody will receive statutory supervision and rehabilitation in the community, to finally address the glaring gap that sees 50,000 short-term prisoners released onto the streets each year with little or no support, free to go back to their criminal ways.
We are also putting in place an unprecedented nationwide “through the prison gate” resettlement service, meaning the majority of offenders will be given continuous support by one provider from custody into the community. We will support this by ensuring that most offenders are held in a prison designated to their area for at least three months prior to release.
Finally, we have created a new public sector National Probation Service, working to protect the public and building upon the expertise and professionalism which are already in place.
Copies of the paper will be available in the Vote Office and in the Printed Paper Office. The document will also be online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crime-reduction-policies-a-coordinated-approach-the-governments-response