Submission to the Independent Sentencing Review’s Call for Evidence

“In explaining the key drivers of changes to sentencing, the Howard League reiterates the position in its 2024 report, Sentence inflation: a judicial critique, which focused on legislative interventions and the role of, and links between, public opinion, the media, and political rhetoric.

“The rising prison population cannot be addressed without grasping the nettle of sentence inflation. The principle of ‘resetting the clock’ should be the guiding principle of any legislative reform to reverse this trend. The Howard League would advocate for a reversion to the sentencing benchmarks of the 1990s.

“A sustainable criminal justice system is one in which prison is used as sparingly as possible, for as little time as possible.”

Read the full briefing.