At £42k/year[1], a prison place costs about 10 times more than a community sentence of the same length[2], and comes with higher reoffending rates[3]. Reducing the CELL COUNT, and making greater use of day release[4], would mean savings for the taxpayer and reduced crime rates.
[1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/841948/costs-per-place-costs-per-prisoner-2018-2019.pdf [2] No very recent data has been made publicly available by the government, but the average cost of a community or suspended sentence order was £4,135 in 2011/12 Ministry of Justice, Probation Trust Unit Costs Financial Year 2011–12 (revised), 28 November 2012 [3] Many studies have proven this fact, see e.g. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/399389/impact-of-short-custodial-sentences-on-reoffending.PDF [4] For the value of day release, see the notes associated with our “Day Release” beer