Abusive men and stalkers must be jailed despite the Government’s plan to drastically reduce the use of short sentences, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has declared.
Mr Chalk told the Daily Express sending “cowardly” criminals to prison gives victims of domestic abuse “crucial time and space to rebuild their lives”.
This will include those who breach court orders, such as stalking protection orders.
The Ministry of Justice on Tuesday introduced a “presumption” against sentences of under a year to reduce the record number of prisoners behind bars.
As many as 37,000 thieves, fraudsters, drug dealers and other lower-level offenders will be eligible.
But domestic abuse campaigners warned that violent men who attack or stalk women could be free to terrorise their victims.
And justice chiefs have confirmed this will not apply to those convicted of attacking women.
The Justice Secretary told this newspaper: “There is no doubt, however, that those who pose a danger to society must be locked up for as long as it is necessary to protect the public.
“As Express readers would rightly expect, I am committed to cracking down on the scourge of violence against women and girls. And that includes making sure their abusers pay the price for their crimes.
“I know that for many victims of domestic violence or stalking, putting their abusers behind bars for short sentences can provide crucial time and space to allow them to rebuild their lives as well as send a clear message to perpetrators that they will face consequences for their behaviour.
“And so, under our proposals, women will continue to be steadfastly protected.
“In cases where criminals pose a significant risk of causing psychological or physical harm, or have breached a court order such as for stalking prevention, judges will retain full discretion to send them to prison immediately.
“This will mean cowardly abusers will continue to face the very real prospect of time in prison.”
There are almost 88,000 criminals locked up in jails in England and Wales. The “operational capacity” of prisons is 88,943.
The King’s Speech last week included previously announced proposals for killers convicted of the most horrific murders never to be released from jail, and proposals that would see rapists and other serious sexual offenders serve their whole jail term behind bars.
But Mr Chalk has vowed to end the “merry-go-round of offending”, claiming half of criminals sentenced to less than 12 months behind bars go on to commit another offence.
Judges will instead suspend their sentence and impose tougher community sentences.
The number of criminals fitted with GPS tags is set to soar, under the new plans.
The Justice Secretary told the Daily Express: “We have to be honest with the public that often short sentences for low-risk offenders can sometimes only further criminalise people who could otherwise go straight.
“The shocking reality is that over 50 per cent of people who leave prison after serving less than twelve months go on to commit further crimes. The figure is 58 per cent for “Those who serve sentences of six months or less. And yet for those who are on suspended sentence orders with conditions, the figure is just 24 per cent.”
Campaigners on Tuesday night insisted judges must be given detailed, accurate risk-assessments as part of sentencing hearings.
Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove said: “Victim safety is paramount, so I welcome today’s announcement that the presumption against shorter sentences won’t apply to those who are assessed as presenting a high risk of psychological or physical harm.
“This will only work effectively if judges are provided with sound risk assessments as part of a pre-sentence report. It is important the government makes sure the Probation Service is resourced to deliver these reports and that staff are trained and experienced in making good risk assessments.
“We must acknowledge victim confidence in community orders is low: all too often compliance is perceived as poor and enforcement weak. I welcome the plan that offenders who breach the conditions of a community order will still face the prospect of a prison sentence.
“However this requires the Probation Service and the courts being equipped to make this prospect a reality.
“I have also called on the government to listen to victims’ concerns when deciding on the conditions attached to a community order. It is important that victims’ concerns are heard and considered.
“This approach, successfully applied in parole hearings, will bolster victims’ confidence that justice is being done and their needs are taken into account.”
Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs said it was “absolutely right” that a commitment had been made “to ensuring victims of domestic abuse do not lose out on the justice and protection they need in the upcoming sentencing Bill”.
She said domestic abuse victims should not have to go through the justice system “only to see their perpetrator given a community sentence which fails to hold them account and does not keep the victim safe”.
But she called on the Government to go further, adding: “I want to see a specific exemption of perpetrators of domestic abuse and sexual violence from the government’s presumption against short sentences.”
She said the probation service must also be funded and trained to provide “robust pre-sentencing reports, risk assessment and appropriate rehabilitative orders for domestic abuse perpetrators, including sufficiently funded perpetrator programmes”.
