Chemical castration for sex offenders under new plans to reduce prison population

Sex offenders could face chemical castration and thousands of offenders will be released after serving a third of their jail term, under plans proposed in a sentencing policy review set to be accepted by ministers.

The independent review, led by the former justice secretary David Gauke, was commissioned by the government amid an overcrowding crisis in prisons in England and Wales. It has made a series of recommendations with the aim of reducing the prison population by 9,800 people by 2028.

What is chemical castration? Here's why doctors will be uneasy about using it on sex offenders The key proposal, which it is understood the government will implement, is a "progression model" - which would see offenders who behave well in jail only serve a third of their term in custody, before being released. The measure will apply to people serving standard determinate sentences, which is the most common type of jail term, being served by the majority of offenders.

It will be based on sentence length, rather than offence type. That means sex offenders and domestic abusers serving sentences of under four years, could all be eligible for early release.

The policy will mean inmates serve only a third of their sentence in prison, a third on licence in the community, with the remaining portion under no probation supervision at all. If the offender committed further offences in the "at risk" - or final - stages of their sentence, once out of prison, they would be sent back to jail to serve the remainder of the original sentence, plus time inside jail for the new offence.

Chemical castration trial could be extended The government will also further the use of medication to suppress the sexual drive of sex offenders, which is currently being piloted in southwest England. The review recommended that chemical castration "may assist in management of suitable sex offenders both in prison and in the community".Ministers are to announce plans for a nationwide rollout, and will first expand the use of the medication to 20 prisons across England.

The justice secretary is also considering whether to make castration mandatory. It's currently voluntary.

Mr Gauke, the chair of the independent sentencing review, told Sky News that "drugs that reduce sexual desire" will not be "appropriate for every sexual offender". "I'm not going to claim it's the answer for everything," the former justice secretary said.

"This is about reducing the risk of re-offending in future. "There are some sex offenders who want to reduce their desires and if we can explore this, I think that is something that's worthwhile." However, Mr Gauke stressed that the government needs to focus on "reducing crime overall".

Domestic abuse commissioner criticises plans Under his recommendations, violent offenders who are serving sentences of four years or more could be released on licence after spending half of their sentence behind bars. This could be extended if they do not comply with prison rules.

These prisoners would then be supervised in the community until 80% of their sentence. In response to the review, the police have warned: "Out of prison should not mean out of control." "If we are going to have fewer people in prison, we need to ensure that we collectively have the resources and powers to manage the risk offenders pose outside of prison," said Chief Constable Sacha Hatchett at the National Police Chiefs Council.

The domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, Nicole Jacobs, said adopting the measures would amount to "watering down" the criminal justice system. "By adopting these measures the government will be sending a clear message to domestic abusers that they can now offend with little consequence," she said.

In a set of proposals considered to be the biggest overhaul of sentencing power laws since the 1990s, judges could be given more flexibility to punish lower level offenders with bans on football or driving. The review has also recommended that short sentences should only be used in "exceptional circumstances.