Member

There is real public interest in getting this right, and it is a financial interest as well as a societal one. First, custodial sentences are expensive: far more expensive than community sentences. Secondly, there is a great deal of evidence that community sentences are more effective than custodial sentences in cutting reoffending. So, if it is right—and I think it is—that good pre-sentence reports lead to more community sentences and to less custody, a central subject of the Gauke review, that is likely to lead to significant savings to the public purse and to a healthier society, with an overall reduction in crime.