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Alsharq Tribune- Ghada Mohamed
Criminals will be banned from attending pubs, sports matches and concerts under new sentencing plans. In a bid to avoid accusations that Labour is soft on crime, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood will introduce tougher community sentences.
Judges will be able to impose driving limits, travel bans and restriction zones. And they will be able to ban criminals from attending specific venues, such as pubs, or events like football matches or concerts.
These measures could be extended to convicted criminals released early from prison.
Anyone caught flouting the bans could be jailed or given another punishment, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said. More criminals will also face mandatory drug testing, the MoJ said, not just those with drug addictions.
As many as 40,000 convicts could avoid jail under Labour's plan to abolish sentences of under 12 months, except in the most extreme circumstances. And the MoJ's bid to avoid another prison overcrowding crisis is built on criminals serving more of their sentences in the community
. Ms Mahmood said: "Widening the range of punishments available to judges is part of our Plan for Change to cut crime and make streets safer. "When criminals break society's rules, they must be punished. Those serving their sentences in the community must have their freedom restricted there, too.
"Rightly, the public expects the Government to do everything in its power to keep Britain safe, and that's what we're doing." It comes as analysis by the Labour Party revealed that 10,000 fewer prisoners underwent NHS treatment for drug and alcohol addictions behind bars last year than in 2015.
MoJ statistics show this included a 16% fall in prisoners in opiate treatment programmes, under the last Government.
A Labour spokesperson said: "Drugs are a poison in our society: ruining lives and shattering communities.
The Conservatives oversaw rocketing quantities of drugs in prison and falling numbers of prisoners trying to kick their habits. "Under our tough new rules, even offenders without drug problems will face mandatory testing.
If they break the rules, court or prison beckons again. As part of the Plan for Change, we're committed to ensure criminals face the punishment they deserve, wherever it takes place. And we want people off drugs, back contributing to society.
Currently, judges are able to give out limited bans for specific crimes, for example football bans for crimes committed inside a stadium on match day, to prevent further antisocial behaviour.
But ministers will change the law so that bans can be handed out as "a form of punishment for any offence in any circumstance". Labour is introducing a "progression model" where prisoners are freed after just a third of their sentence.
They will spend another third under house arrest and will only then be put on licence and let into the community. It is in the third part of the sentences that these bans could be introduced.
Criminals sentenced to more than four years behind bars will be let out after serving just half of their jail term, while punishments of less than 12 months will be abolished in most cases.
Only the most extreme offenders will be refused the right to leave prison at the halfway point The proposals, first outlined by former Tory justice secretary David Gauke, will save around 9,800 places. And Labour wants to introduce another 14,000 prison places by 2031 - costing taxpayers £4.1billion.
The MoJ said on Saturday that 2,400 prison spaces have been created since July 2024. But the proposed cap of 95,000 prison spaces, identified in the Independent Sentencing Review, "will still be a challenge for the prison service".
