The UK government is preparing to introduce comprehensive sentencing reforms in September to address prison overcrowding and overhaul the justice system, marking the most significant legal change in three decades.

These reforms, inspired by recommendations from former Justice Secretary David Gauke, will include abolishing short prison sentences under 12 months in most cases, with exceptions like domestic abuse, citing reoffending rates of 62% among short-term inmates.

The legislation aims to prevent prison system collapse caused by overcrowding and emergency releases, emphasizing the need for more effective measures.

A key feature of the reforms is the introduction of a Texas-style earned release scheme, allowing prisoners to earn early release through good behavior after serving a third to half of their sentences, excluding the most dangerous offenders.

The reforms will also expand community punishments, giving courts greater flexibility to impose tougher sentences such as bans from public venues, driving restrictions, and travel bans, with violations leading to harsher penalties.

An 'earned progression model' will be introduced, combining early release incentives with increased use of unpaid work and stricter community sanctions to improve rehabilitation and public safety.

To enhance monitoring and safety, the legislation will impose 'restriction zones' on released sexual and violent offenders, monitored via technology, and aim to deport most foreign criminals immediately after conviction.

New enforcement powers will extend restrictions on offenders, monitored by probation officers, to any offence, including violent crimes, with suspended sentences increasing from two to three years.

The reforms include restrictions on sentences under 12 months, except in specific cases, and aim to reinforce societal rules by linking criminal conduct with the possibility of early or extended sentences.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood emphasized that these measures are designed to remind offenders that crime does not pay and to maintain order through stricter punishments in the community.

The legislation, expected to be enacted after MPs return from summer recess in September, will implement many recommendations from the Gauke review and is described as one of the largest sentencing overhauls in a generation.

Overall, the reforms seek to reduce prison overcrowding, improve rehabilitation efforts, and enhance public safety through more flexible sentencing and community measures.