Councils could hold the key to solving Britain's prison crisis, according to a new report. Justice reinvestment, by the International Centre for Prison Studies (ICPS) at King's College London, was launched last week at a conference in Gateshead. The report calls for local authorities to take the lead in resettling short-term prisoners, and for councils to develop stronger links with probation services. The creation of a multi-agency adult offending team is also recommended. It also looks at whether making local taxpayers more repsonsible for prison costs could encourage authorities and magistrates to look at altenatives to imprisonment. ‘The findings resonate strongly with the LGA reports Going straight and Neighbourhood by neighbourhood,' said LGA vice chair, Sir Jeremy Beecham. ‘The creative ideas need urgent consideration if we are not to continue limping from one prisons crisis to another.' Baroness Stern, a senior research fellow at ICPS, said: ‘The case for a more local approach is strong. The Offender Management Bill currently in Parliament provides a vehicle to put it into practice.'
