Shropshire MPs' column: Dangerous criminals must serve their full sentences

I have been contacted by scores of constituents who are appalled by Labour’s plan to release thousands of criminals from prison before they have served their full sentences.

In some cases, killers could be released years ahead of schedule after serving just one third of their sentence. This is unacceptable.

Following an understandable outcry from the public and from victims, the government has slightly amended its 'get out of jail free card'.

Prisoners sentenced for rape or serious child sex and grooming offences will not now be eligible for early release from October. From the outset, Ministers should never have considered early release for those guilty of such heinous crimes. My personal view is the current sentencing regime needs toughening up, not weakening. The punishment must meet the crime.

Those prisoners who remain eligible for early release include two of the people who killed PC Andrew Harper, the police officer who died after being dragged behind a car after trying to prevent a burglary. The killing led to the introduction of Harper’s Law, which requires a mandatory life sentence to be imposed on anyone convicted of killing an emergency worker. PC Harper’s killers were sentenced to 16 years’ and 13 years’ imprisonment. Instead of walking free, they should serve their full sentences.

Clearly, there is pressure on prison places, but there are sensible alternatives to prematurely releasing dangerous criminals who should still face many more years in prison.

For example, about 1 in every 8 prisoners are foreign nationals, who should be deported. Kemi Badenoch is right to call for the UK's departure from the European Convention on Human Rights while it continues to put British nationals at risk of serious harm. Foreign offenders should not use impracticable international laws as a way of escaping domestic law or deportation.

Ministers should also speed up the increases in prison places they promised. The Labour government said it could create 14,000 new places but has only created 3,200.

That said, there are some alternatives to prison which the government could and should use, such as expanding the role of drug rehabilitation orders issued by the courts, or reducing reoffending rates through improved education and vocational training for willing prisoners.

Prisoners leaving prison with some chance of getting employment is proven to reduce reoffending rates. It is debatable whether all prisoners are capable of redemption, but many prisoners do want to find a way of breaking their reoffending cycle. Society benefits when past offenders genuinely turn around their lives for the better, but there are also prisoners who will always be too dangerous to release.

The justice system exists to punish offenders and protect the public. Public safety must always first not the convenience of Ministers. People are fed up of Labour being soft on offenders.