David Lammy will promise “smarter justice” as he announces plans to expand new sentences aimed at tackling the root causes of crime.
The Justice Secretary is expected to announce an expansion of “intensive supervision courts” during Labour’s annual conference on Monday.
Unlike normal courts, intensive supervision courts see criminals with a history of repeated short sentences, substance abuse, or other complex needs brought back before the same judge to monitor their progress in addressing the causes of their offending.
The scheme has already been piloted in some areas in England, including Liverpool, with Ministry of Justice officials pointing to high compliance rates and improvements in health and cutting substance abuse.
Similar courts in Texas, known as problem-solving courts, have reduced reoffending by a third.
Ahead of the announcement, Mr Lammy said: “For too long, our criminal justice system has been stuck in a cycle – short sentences that change nothing, the same people reoffending again and again.
“Intensive supervision courts are about breaking that cycle.
“They bring the full force of the court together with local services, and they keep offenders coming back to face the judge as they try to turn their lives around.
“It’s tougher, more demanding, and it works.
“Labour’s plan for change means punishment that works – smarter justice that cuts crime, tackles addiction, and helps offenders break free of the revolving door of prison.”
The announcement follows an independent sentencing review, published in May, that called for sentences of less than 12 months to be scrapped in most cases in favour of a greater focus on rehabilitation.
Intensive supervision courts are designed for persistent non-dangerous offenders, diverting them away from repeated short spells in prison.
The expansion is expected to begin with an intensive supervision court for women in Liverpool, where there is already one focused on drug abuse, while expressions of interest from other parts of the country have already been received.
