UK : prison and probation 'must be overhauled to cut re-offending that costs taxpayer billions of pounds'

Prison and probation services in England and Wales must be overhauled to drive down re-offending rates that cost the taxpayer billions of pounds, according to a report.
Ministers were urged to push up staffing numbers and bring in legislation to establish a new rehabilitation “duty”.

The potential impact that prisons could have on reducing re-offending has been undermined by “a lack of consistent political leadership”, according to a report published by the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

It welcomed the Government’s commitment to prison reform and called for the Ministry of Justice to compile a national rehabilitation strategy running to 2020.

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