Breaking the Cycle: Rethinking Short-Term Sentences

One of the most important changes we need to see in the criminal justice system is the introduction of a presumption against prison sentences of less than 12 months. Short-term prison sentences are, by and large, ineffective. They disrupt people’s lives without giving them the opportunity to rehabilitate, while doing little to address the underlying causes of offending behaviour.

For those of us who have experienced the revolving doors of crisis and crime, it’s clear that short-term sentences do more harm than good. They often lead to a cycle of reoffending and contribute to the overcrowding crisis in prisons.

There is overwhelming evidence that short-term sentences don’t work. In fact, they often make things worse. According to the Ministry of Justice, nearly 60% of people who receive a sentence of less than 12 months in prison will reoffend within a year of release. This reoffending rate is significantly higher than for those who receive non-custodial sentences, such as community orders or suspended sentences.

The reasons behind this are clear. Short-term prison sentences don’t allow for meaningful rehabilitation. People are sent to prison for a few weeks or months, where they are largely warehoused, not helped. There isn’t enough time to engage them in meaningful rehabilitation programs, and the prison experience itself often leads to further trauma, stigma, and disconnection from the outside world.

Short-term sentences wreak havoc on people’s lives. Imagine you are given a sentence of three months. It may seem like a short time, but the damage done in those few months can last a lifetime. When someone is sent to prison, even for a short time, they are often cut off from their family, lose their job, their housing, and their place in their community.

For people with mental health issues, neurodivergent conditions, or addiction, short-term sentences can be even more destructive. Instead of receiving treatment or support in the community, they are sent to an environment where their condition is often left untreated or worsens. In prison, access to proper mental health care is limited, and programs for substance use are often inadequate or unavailable in the short time they are in prison.

Once released, they often find themselves homeless, unemployed, and without the necessary support systems to reintegrate into society. This is why the reoffending rates are so high, people leave prison worse off than when they went in, and with fewer opportunities to rebuild their lives. The system sets them up to fail, creating a vicious cycle of prison and reoffending.

Short-term sentences also place a massive strain on the prison system itself. The constant influx of people serving short terms adds to overcrowding, which is already a serious issue in the UK’s prisons. Overcrowded prisons are less safe, they lead to higher rates of violence, drug use, self-harm and suicide, as well as creating environments that are detrimental to rehabilitation efforts.

Prison staff, under immense pressure from dealing with the sheer number of people in prison, are often unable to provide the level of care and supervision needed to support people properly. This lack of individualised attention means that many people in prison fall through the cracks, especially those with neurodivergent conditions or mental health issues. The chaotic environment in overcrowded prisons makes it almost impossible to run effective rehabilitation programs or offer meaningful support.

The reality is that for most people who commit low-level, non-violent offences, prison is not the answer. Community-based alternatives, such as community orders, suspended sentences, combined with treatment programs, are far more effective at addressing the root causes of offending and reducing reoffending rates.

For example, community orders can include requirements for people to attend rehabilitation programs for drug or alcohol addiction, receive mental health support, or perform unpaid work that benefits the community. These alternatives allow people to stay connected to their families, maintain employment, and access support services while taking responsibility for their actions.

In Scotland, they’ve already introduced a presumption against short-term sentences of less than 12 months, favouring community-based alternatives. The results have been promising. Studies have shown that those given community sentences are less likely to reoffend than those given short custodial sentences. Scotland’s approach shows that we don’t need to rely on prison as the default response to every offence, especially when there are more effective, humane, and cost-efficient alternatives.

The annual average cost of a prison place in the UK is over ￡50,000. By contrast, the cost of a community sentence is far lower. Shifting the focus away from short-term imprisonment towards community-based alternatives would not only reduce reoffending rates but also save the government significant amounts of money—funds that could be reinvested into mental health services, addiction treatment, and social support programs.

Rather than spending tens of thousands of pounds on locking someone up for a few months, that money could be better used to provide people with the support and rehabilitation they need to turn their lives around. When we stop thinking of prison as the default solution and start investing in preventative measures, we can reduce the overall burden on the criminal justice system and improve outcomes for everyone involved.

At the heart of this issue is the need to address the root causes of crime. Many people who receive short-term sentences are struggling with a range of issues, including poverty, addiction, trauma, mental illness, or neurodivergent conditions. These problems won’t be solved by a few months in prison. In fact, prison often makes these issues worse.

If we are serious about reducing crime and protecting the public, we need to invest in solutions that tackle these underlying problems. This means increasing access to mental health services, improving support for people with neurodivergent conditions, expanding treatment programs for addiction, and providing education and employment opportunities for those at risk of offending.

By addressing the underlying challenges that contribute to offending behaviour, we can give people the tools they need to succeed and prevent them from becoming trapped in the revolving doors.

The time has come for a radical rethink of how we approach sentencing, particularly for low-level, non-violent offences. The evidence is clear: short-term prison sentences are not working. They fail to rehabilitate people, lead to high rates of reoffending, and place a tremendous strain on both individuals and the prison system as a whole.

We need a presumption against short-term sentences, with a greater focus on community-based alternatives that provide people with the support and opportunities they need to break free from the cycle of offending.

It’s time to stop relying on punishment and start focusing on rehabilitation. By doing so, we can create a criminal justice system that is fairer, more humane, more effective at reducing crime, and make our communities safer in the long run.