The justice secretary has said that many sentencing reforms aimed at easing prison overcrowding have been accepted by the government, including chemical castration for sex offenders.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday (22 May), Shabana Mahmood said 20 prisons will pilot the scheme, which aims to reduce the risk of reoffending.
“Of course, it is vital that this approach is taken alongside psychological interventions that target other causes of offending, power and control,” she said.
It was one of 48 recommendations put forward by former justice secretary David Gauke to ensure there is space in prisons for the most dangerous offenders.
She also accepted reforms to allow some criminals, including violent and sexual offenders, to be released at an earlier point in their sentence if they show good behaviour.
“If they follow prison rules, they will earn an earlier release. If they do not, they will be locked up for longer,” she said, though stressed that terrorists and the most dangerous offenders will not be eligible.
Ms Mahmood also announced that the government will scrap the use of short sentences of less than 12 months, and that the Probation Service will also receive a funding boost of up to £700m by 2028/29.
