Should people in full-time work be able to serve short prison sentences at weekends only?
Weekend-only prison sentences do not exist in England and Wales: a custodial sentence runs continuously unless it is suspended. Since the Sentencing Act 2026 came into force on 22 March 2026, courts must normally suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less, so the offender stays in the community under conditions. Weekend or intermittent custody was floated in a 1984 Home Office green paper and a 1998 parliamentary report, and has been used in places such as the US, Canada, Belgium and the Netherlands. In the UK, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 created intermittent custody, piloted from 2004 at two prisons and dropped in 2006 after low take-up.
50 Opinions
They can use the gym then , I put yes sarcastically as letting criminals out in hundreds. Maybe alphabetical. A to g Mondays,h to n Tuesday. Etc !!
Why discrimination inate against part tuners? This is an argument for less use of expensive and ineffective prisons. Far better to tackle the major causes of addiction and brain illness as the medical problems that they are.
Never heard of this idea but sounds interesting. Although since non-violent offenders are mainly given non- custodial sentences to reduce prison overcrowding I can’t see this working in practise. What types of criminal activity would be eligible?
There are plenty of options that judges can already reach for if they reckon that the crime does not warrant the loss of job or family (community service, tagging). I have not seen a clear argument why another one is needed. If a crime is serious enough to warrant prison, then so be it: total loss of liberty and all that it entails. Crime has consequences. That surely is supposed to be the lesson of imprisonment. Edited
No if you commit a crime whatever it is then your punishment is exactly that and you should have your life disrupted.
If someone has committed a crime that is out of character but carries a short tariff is it better for the majority if they are let off? Not for me. However if they are in full time employment and have dependants there is a good chance their family will become an added burden to the state benefit system. A systems where all free time is removed and they are only released for their work period means their families are not punished for the crime of others.
If they are safe enough to let out eg theft fraud , then fine them if they have hurt another person or animal then throw away the key.
Prison is supposed to be inconvenient
Like a city break, you mean??
Just makes the penal system more complex.