Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Prolific Offenders

Tuesday 10 December 2024 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Prolific offenders represent 10% of all offenders but account for nearly 50% of all sentences.
  • The Government is on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than in the previous year.
  • The Government committed to reviewing a policy related to prolific offenders 18 months after its introduction.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Joe Robertson Con Isle of Wight East
Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

The question addresses the issue of prolific offending and its impact on crime rates.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle hyper-prolific offenders. Prolific offenders represent only 10% of all offenders but account for nearly 50% of all sentences, clearly indicating a need for intervention.

Answer from Shabana Mahmood

We know that prolific offenders represent only 10% of offenders but account for nearly 50% of all sentences. That clearly cannot continue, which is why I have specifically asked David Gauke to look at this issue in the independent sentencing review, to ensure that we have fewer crimes committed by prolific criminals.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific steps being taken currently

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Q2 Ashley Fox Con Bridgwater
Immigration Justice & Courts
Context

The question relates to the issue of foreign nationals who commit crimes and their deportation.

Question

Can she tell the House what data her Department holds on the nationality of prolific offenders, and what steps she will take to deport those who are non-British. The Government is working towards removing more foreign national offenders than in previous years.

Answer from Shabana Mahmood

The hon. Member will know that we retain data on foreign national offenders, and this Government are on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than in the previous year. I obviously want to make further progress on this issue, and I hope that there will be consensus across the House so that we remove those who commit crimes in this country and who have no right to be here.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific data or concrete plans for deportation

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Q3 Joe Robertson Con Isle of Wight East
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

The early release scheme has an impact assessment for a period of 10 years. The question arises from concerns about the inclusion of prolific offenders in this scheme.

Question

For however long it does run, will the Government confirm that no prolific offenders will be released early. The Government committed to reviewing the policy 18 months after its introduction.

Answer from Shabana Mahmood

The impact assessment is done over the usual period of time, but I have committed to review the policy 18 months from the moment it was brought in, which is a commitment that we will keep. I recognise that we have a problem with prolific offending. It has gone up over the last decade or so, which is why I have specifically asked the sentencing review panel to consider the interventions that we should make to cut the cycle of prolific offending.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide confirmation on excluding prolific offenders from early release

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Q4 Jonathan Brash Lab Hartlepool
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

Retail workers in the constituency report a predictable pattern of repeat shoplifting after short prison terms.

Question

Does my right hon. Friend agree with them that the solution to hyper-prolific offending must be longer sentences in certain cases. The Government are committed to scrapping the effective immunity for some shoplifting by removing the £200 threshold.

Answer from Shabana Mahmood

The length of sentences, and how to deal with the problem of prolific offending, will be looked at specifically by the independent sentencing review panel. My hon. Friend will understand why I cannot pre-empt the findings of that review, but he will note that this Government are committed to scrapping the effective immunity for some shoplifting, which was introduced by the previous Conservative Government, by removing the £200 threshold.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not confirm agreement on longer sentences for prolific offenders

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Q5 Kieran Mullan Con Bexhill and Battle
Justice & Courts
Context

There have been issues with the early release scheme related to tagging.

Question

Can she assure the public that everyone who is being released, and who should be getting a tag, is being tagged on time. The problem has been resolved for the two tranches of SDS40 releases.

Answer from Shabana Mahmood

Yes. The specific problem that the hon. Gentleman refers to, which relates to Serco's performance and the two tranches of SDS40 releases, has now been resolved. The backlog has been cleared, and Serco's performance is now back to where it should be.

Answered
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Q6 Kieran Mullan Con Bexhill and Battle
Justice & Courts
Context

Problems with the early release tagging scheme have been resolved, but issues persist for other prisoners.

Question

Again, can she assure the House that the thousands of prisoners who are due to be tagged are being tagged on time. There are no additional issues in relation to tagging or the process by which the tagging takes place with Serco.

Answer from Shabana Mahmood

Yes. There are no additional issues in relation to tagging or the process by which the tagging takes place with Serco, but where there is contract failure by Serco, we will not hesitate to take action. We have already imposed financial penalties for the things that went wrong with the SDS40 releases.

Answered
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