We believe it is time to reform community sentences. In doing so, we need to move away from the clichés of the past about tough or soft justice. Instead, the unification of the management of offenders within the National Probation Service and the forthcoming Sentencing White Paper are real opportunities for this Government to make community sentencing smarter.
Smarter community sentences mean giving probation practitioners the powers, the freedom and the flexibility to do their jobs. Smarter community sentences mean ensuring victims and communities who suffer from crime have more of a voice to see reparation done. Smarter community sentences mean leveraging the full resources of the Government, from the police, the courts, through to drug treatment and employment services and others to work with probation to deliver punishment and to give offenders the chance to turn around their lives.