Release prisoners on short sentences to reduce spread of coronavirus, says police chief
Prisoners serving short sentences should be released to help reduce the spread of coronavirus, Staffordshire's police commissioner has said.
Matthew Ellis has joined a cross-party coalition of 50 peers, police and crime commissioners, leading academics and charities to urge ministers to suspend short jail sentences during the pandemic.
In it, they say "keeping non-violent and non-sexual offenders out of prison is the sensible thing to do to save lives".
There are increasing fears about Covid-19 spreading among inmates and prison staff. More than 110 cases have been confirmed at jails across the country.
Two cases have been confirmed at HMP Oakwood near Wolverhampton, Britain's largest jail, but that figure is believed to have grown. G4S, which runs the jail, said it would no longer be confirming the number of cases, in line with Government policy.
In the letter, the 50, led by charity Revolving Doors, warn that jailing criminals for non-violent offences under six months should be halted because of the risks to them and prison staff of “serious disease and death if infected with coronavirus.”
“Unless urgent action is taken, this rapid churn of people could lead to more deaths in prison, increase staff shortages and make our prisons unmanageable.
"In these extraordinary times keeping non-violent and non-sexual offenders out of prison is the sensible thing to do to save lives,” they say.
Mr Ellis said: "There are practical reasons during the current pandemic to reduce pressure on our prison service by releasing low-risk, non-violent individuals serving short sentences.
"If that happens, we must also ensure that a robust study is in place to examine the outcomes for all individuals released. It will help inform the ongoing debate as to the effectiveness, or not, of short-term custody in prison.
‘Our study last year across the prison estate in the West Midlands suggested, far from reforming individuals, short stays in prison make it more likely individuals become entrenched in more serious criminality than they were actually imprisoned for in the first place."
