Chemical castration: Ministers consider making castration mandatory for sex offenders under new plans - as medication to suppress sexual drive piloted in England
Sex offenders could face chemical castration and thousands of offenders will be released after serving a third of their jail term, under new plans.
The new plans were 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. 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.
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.
The domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, Nicole Jacobs, said adopting the measures would amount to "watering down" the criminal justice system. She added: "By adopting these measures the government will be sending a clear message to domestic abusers that they can now offend with little consequence”.