Unlock responds to the recently published Independent Sentencing Review. We welcome the proposals and alongside other allies in the sector call for more support for community-based groups as well as the probation service.
Unlock welcomes the publication of the Independent Sentencing Review, which proposes reducing the use of short prison sentences in favour of community alternatives.
We recognise this as a positive and long-overdue shift.
However, if this review is to result in real change, it must be accompanied by serious investment in probation, the inclusion of lived experience in decision-making, and a clear commitment to tackling racial injustice within the criminal justice system.
Paula Harriott, CEO of Unlock, said:
“Short prison sentences do enormous harm: to individuals, families, and communities.
“We welcome the review’s acknowledgment of that harm and its support for community-based alternatives. It is absolutely vital, now, to ensure relevant funding for those alternatives.
“As a lived-experience organisation, Unlock calls for the voices of people who understand the criminal records system first-hand to be placed front and centre in the new steps towards reform.”
The problem with short sentences
Short prison sentences are often disruptive and counterproductive. They disconnect people from work, family, housing, and essential support systems, all of which are proven to help people avoid reoffending. They also carry a disproportionate and lasting criminal records impact. While short sentences are often used for non-violent offences, they result in a permanent mark on a person’s record when disclosed in standard or enhanced DBS checks.
Suspended short sentences have the same effect. This leaves many people locked out of work, education and housing long after they’ve served their time. The impact is even greater for younger people who experience the long shadow of a criminal record throughout their life.
“It’s important to remember that community and suspended sentences still result in criminal records. Those records come with significant barriers to employment, education, and other opportunities,” said Paula Harriott.
Better outcomes for society
Unlock supports reform that reduces the use of these sentences, not only because it is more just, but because it means better outcomes for society. Our submission to the review stated, community-based alternatives are not only more effective in reducing reoffending, they also allow individuals to move forward with their lives. This means that they can reconnect with their communities, and rebuild their own lives with dignity.
This shift will only work if community alternatives are properly resourced. That means significant and sustained investment in:
- the probation service
- housing and employment support
- community organisations
- programmes shaped and led by people with lived experience.
Confronting racial injustice
We also urge the Ministry of Justice to fully engage with the findings of the Lammy Review (2017), which laid bare the deep racial disparities in sentencing and wider criminal justice outcomes. People from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds are overpoliced, more likely to receive custodial sentences, and are underrepresented in justice reform discussions.
These issues are not fully acknowledged in the Gauke Review beyond a reference to the disparities.
“We cannot talk about sentencing reform without talking about race,” said Paula Harriott.
“Ethnic minority communities are overpoliced, over sentenced, and underrepresented. Any new legislation must confront this directly, not as a footnote.”
“We need a justice system that doesn’t just punish”
For Unlock, sentencing reform and better outcomes for everyone, isn’t just about reducing time in prison. It’s about what happens next.
“For sentencing reform to work, people must have something to come home to,” said Paula Harriott. “They have to have a chance at a new life.”
“We need a justice system that doesn’t just punish. It needs to be one built on compassion that supports, is inclusive and believes in people’s ability to change.”
Find out more
Read the Independent Sentencing Review online
Learn more about our areas of work online
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Thanks, it was really useful to read this, and also save a copy of the new Independent Sentencing Review. I work in prisons, and more broadly am interested in social and racial justice, so this was highly relevant for me. Keep up the great work.