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Short jail terms are bad for criminals, says top judge: Sentences under six months 'disrupt a prisoner's home life

Lord Neuberger said a few months behind bars is not an effective deterrent
He also criticised shared cells, prison food and even cheap furniture
Judge was accused of seeing things 'from the point of view of the criminal'

By Jack Doyle

PUBLISHED: 00:24, 26 November 2013 | UPDATED: 00:30, 26 November 2013

Controversial: Lord Neuberger, president of the Supreme Court, says short sentences are bad for criminals

One of the country�s most senior judges provoked fury last night when he criticised short jail sentences for interfering with the home lives of criminals.

Lord Neuberger, president of the Supreme Court, said he rejected the idea that a couple of months behind bars � and what he called �the clang of the prison gates� � could help bring criminals to their senses.

Instead, he warned such sentences �can be disruptive� for the prisoner�s job and home life. The judge made his comments after visiting Holloway women�s prison in North London.

He also expressed concern that prisoners there were forced to share a cell, when �the vast majority� would, he said, prefer to have a room to themselves.

Bizarrely, he also complained about �bossy notices� on prison walls, and the cheap furniture he saw in the jail, and expressed astonishment at how little money was spent on prisoners� food.

His comments raised concerns that a senior member of the judiciary appeared to be intervening in highly political debate around sentencing policy.

Critics accused the judge of seeing things �entirely from the point of view of the criminal� and failing to consider victims. Ministers defended short sentences as �effective�.

His comments came in an article for the November issue of Independent Monitor, the magazine for prison monitoring boards, after a visit to Holloway in North London earlier this year.

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In the year to March 2013, a total of 18,724 criminals were given jail sentences of between three and six months.

Another 25,165 were given jail terms of up to three months.

The judge wrote: �As a judge one message I took away was the highly questionable value of short sentences.�

�The notion that a couple of months in prison will help bring a defendant to her senses, the so-called �clang of the prison gates�, has always had a real resonance for me.'
Tory MP Douglas Carswell blasted the judge's comments, saying: 'Of course a prison sentence is going to disrupt the life of the criminal. That's the ruddy idea, your honour'

Tory MP Douglas Carswell blasted the judge's comments, saying: 'Of course a prison sentence is going to disrupt the life of the criminal. That's the ruddy idea, your honour'

He added: �But, following my visit to Holloway, having listened to the probation officers and others, I have a very different perspective. A short prison sentence can be disruptive for the prisoner�s job, home etc.

'And on the other hand, if an offender needs help for any reason, such as substance abuse or training for a job, there is no point in her being in prison for much less than six months.�

He added: �My other impressions included concern that most prisoners were required to share a cell when the great majority wished to be on their own; astonishment that prisoners could be fed sensibly for under �2 a day.�
Tory MP Douglas Carswell criticised the judge's comments, claiming many of his constituents want to see longer sentences for criminals

Tory MP Douglas Carswell criticised the judge's comments, claiming many of his constituents want to see longer sentences for criminals

But it was his comments on sentencing which provoked dismay � as he appeared to stray into political territory.

Tory MP Douglas Carswell said: �What a surprise! A senior official in the criminal justice system sees things entirely from the point of view of the criminal. Until we democratise the appointment process for judges, judges are never going to be on our side.

�Of course a prison sentence is going to disrupt the life of the criminal � that�s the ruddy idea, your honour. In my constituency, there are people who would say that if short sentences are a problem, just make them longer.�

Criminal justice expert Peter Cuthbertson, the director of the Centre for Crime Prevention, said: �It�s a huge mistake to view sentencing only from the point of view of criminals, without thinking of their many potential victims.

�Even short sentences can give communities a respite from hardened criminals. Putting away serious, repeat offenders for even a few months can prevent dozens of crimes.

But longer prison sentences do have a much better record for cutting reoffending. If Lord Neuberger thinks short sentences don�t do the job, figures show we should use prison for longer rather than not at all.�

Defenders of the use of short jail sentences point out most criminals will have been given several community sentences and other �soft� punishments before they merit a jail term. Almost 8,000 criminals jailed last year had been given at least 11 community sentences.

Last night, Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said short sentences �can be an effective punishment for some criminals�.

A Supreme Court spokesman said: �Lord Neuberger was simply reporting informal conversations he had with probation officers and other prison staff during his visit to Holloway Prison in July.

His reflections of their views on short term sentences are in no way intended as official statements of sentencing policy, which are matters for the Sentencing Council and Parliament.

�Judges balance a wide range of factors when considering appropriate sentences, including the impact the crime has had on victims and the interests of wider society.�
JUDGE WHO CHALLENGED THE HOME SECRETARY
In March Lord Neuberger rebuked Home Secretary Theresa May for criticising judges who fail to deport foreign criminals

In March Lord Neuberger rebuked Home Secretary Theresa May for criticising judges who fail to deport foreign criminals

Earlier this year Lord Neuberger refused to answer journalists� questions at a press conference, warning that it was inappropriate for judges to give opinions publicly on solely political matters.

But as the 65-year-old has settled into his role as President of the Supreme Court, which he took up in October last year, he has made a series of interventions in sensitive political territory.

Earlier this year he said legal aid cuts would bring lawlessness � warning that restricting rights to free lawyers would �lead to people taking the law in to their own hands�.

In March he rebuked Home Secretary Theresa May for criticising judges who fail to deport foreign criminals. He said Mrs May�s comments were �inappropriate, unhelpful and wrong�.

He was previously the most senior critic of the decision to abolish the Law Lords and create the Supreme Court, which he now heads. He described Tony Blair�s decision to go ahead with the reform as �verging on the frivolous�.

Last month, he spoke out to praise the Daily Mail for exposing the secret jailing of a woman who was trying to take her father out of a care home because she feared for his safety.

In April, the Mail revealed 50-year-old Wanda Maddocks had been handed a five-month jail term by the Court of Protection � the secretive court which controls the affairs of people who are too ill to make their own decisions.

The judge said he applauded the reporting of the case, adding: �I think that one of the important functions of an open society is that the Press and media remind us sometimes of the need to examine our practices and to see whether we do comply as much as we should with the need for open justice.�

Lord Neuberger, the son of a medical professor who fled Germany when Hitler came to power, is one of the few judges with experience outside the law. He worked for City bank N M Rothschild for three years after leaving Oxford.

As Master of the Rolls, he allowed the City of London to order the Occupy protesters to move on from St Paul�s after a four-month protest. He has been highly critical of the excesses of lawyers profiting from the no-win no-fee system.

Lord Neuberger has been married for 36 years to tv producer Angela Holdsworth. They have two sons and a daughter.