PRISON POPULATION AND SHORT-TERM SENTENCES

That this House is concerned that the prison population is too high and that there continues to be a worrying number of largely overcrowded prisons in the UK that are housing up to 83 per cent over their certified normal accommodation numbers; and notes that consideration should be given to a move towards alternative rehabilitation methods, such as usingcommunity sentences to replace costly short sentences of up to six months, not only to tackle the prison population but to benefit communities, improve prison conditions and reduce the fiscal burden of housing the current prison population which currently stands at an estimated 13 billion per year.