Member

We face a crisis of trust in our criminal justice system. The last YouGov poll taken on public confidence in the British judicial system saw, for the first time since the poll began, that as many people did not have confidence in the system as did. The British public do not believe that the system they pay for is producing the right outcomes. We have to acknowledge that. The public must be able to see that the criminal justice system works for their benefit. This involves, I am afraid, locking up many offenders, but it also involves ensuring that they make good use of their time. If criminals are mandated to engage, while in prison, in activities that benefit society when they come out—and these activities are documented and recorded, as my noble friend’s amendment aims to introduce—we could begin to instil trust in the system as a whole. It will be a stepping stone because it will be seen to be doing some good for those who are locked up.