In January, ICPR submitted evidence to the Independent Sentencing Review led by the Rt Hon David Gauke.
The Review panel has now published the first part of its report, making frequent use of our World Prison Brief data and the comparative figures we provided in our evidence.
History and Trends in Sentencing uses World Prison Brief data to show that the incarceration rate for England and Wales is higher than nearly all other Western European countries. Our historical WPB data are also used, to show the rise in the prison population rate of England & Wales since 2000, as compared to rates in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands which have seen steady declines since 2004, 2010 and 2006 respectively.
We look forward to the next instalment of this important review, which will provide the government with a roadmap for much-needed sentencing reform.