It comes after the Prime Minister ordered an urgent review of prison sentencing.
In a bid to crack down on crime, Boris Johnson wants to end automatic early releases – where dangerous offenders are let out of prison mid-sentence.
Under current legislation, offenders sentenced to 12 months or more serve the first half of their time in prison and the second “on licence” in the community, where they can be recalled.
Over the weekend Mr Johnson pledged up to £2.5 bn to create 10,000 extra prison places and expand stop-and-search powers.
The Prison Advice & Care Trust (PACT) is a Catholic charity that has worked within the justice system for 120 years.
PACT CEO Andy Keen-Downs told Premier’s News Hour that increasing sentences will not reduce crime rates.
He said: “Sentences have actually been getting longer, significantly longer the last 10-20 years.
“What all the experts point to is that longer sentences are not actually a deterrent to people from offending – they don’t stop people offending.”
Mr Keen Downs says the PM’s solution is a band aid for a bullet wound: “If young people are carrying knives, because they’re frightened, because other young people are carrying knives, they’re not going to not carry a knife, because they think the sentence is going to be longer.
“They won’t carry a knife if they feel safe in their own communities.”
Mr Keen Downs says big prisons are…
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