According to the UK Green Party website the Green Party will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:
CJ340 Wholly unacceptable levels of men, women and children are currently imprisoned at great cost to their future rehabilitation, as well as to their families, the taxpayer and society in general. The Green Party is therefore committed to significantly reducing the prison population. To that end, a range of measures will be used, including changes to sentencing policy and practice. Courts will have a duty to reduce use of custodial sentencing in favour of community sentencing. (See also ‘Immediate Prison Reforms’ section, below.)
CJ341 New principles will be introduced giving Courts the duty to sentence with main objects of firstly, ensuring reparation to the victim or the community and secondly, persuading and enabling the offender to become a law-abiding member of the community.
CJ342 Reparation of whatever nature agreed or ordered would in the first place seek to reflect the actual financial and other losses and the pain, injury and inconvenience suffered by the victim. Then the offender’s ability to pay and perform the reparation would also be taken into account.
CJ343 Reparation successfully completed before sentencing by the court in a serious case will be taken into account in determining the sentence. Mediation between victim and offender, however, will be a voluntary process affecting only the victim and offender as individuals.
CJ344 Current non-custodial sentences such as Community Service and Probation would continue to be used, but the use of fines would be replaced by measures which make reparation for the harm/ inconvenience caused. In the short term emphasis would be placed on increasing the reparative element in sentencing and reducing the use of detention.
CJ345 Vulnerable people such as those with mental health problems or learning difficulties will in a Green society, benefit from sufficient community support to reduce the likelihood of their offending. Their greatest needs are not for penal measures but for stable and caring families, decent accommodation and community medical (including psychiatric) provision.
CJ346 Sentencing practice would be constantly monitored to reveal:
a) whether it is being effective in ensuring reparation for the victim;
b) whether offenders are required to make reparation;
c) whether it is delivered in a non-discriminatory way as between different ethnic, gender and other social groups.
d) the extent to which it contributes to a reduction in crime.
I would be interested to hear both positive and negative views on UK Green Party’s Sentencing policies in the comments below?