Britain is preparing a reorganization of its justice system, and – as is always the case with PM Keir Starmer’s government – it seems filled with bad ideas meant to try and free some space in its overcrowded prisons.
One of the first and most unpopular acts of the Labour government was to release more prisoners early – including dangerous ones – but still, police cells are being used to hold prisoners to deal with overcrowding in prison.
But there is one interesting nugget included in the plans.
Reuters reported:
“Announcing the findings of a review into how to tackle the crisis, justice minister Shabana Mahmood said it had recommended continuing a pilot [program] of so-called ‘medication to manage problematic sexual arousal’.
‘I am exploring whether mandating the approach is possible’, she told lawmakers.
Options include pharmaceuticals that suppress libido and those that reduce sexual thoughts, the review said.”
“The Independent Sentencing Review said there was an overreliance on custody, and that more should be invested in the Probation Service, with greater electronic monitoring and a supervision system to reduce reoffending.”
Custodial sentences of less than a year, the Review argues, ‘should only be used in exceptional circumstances’.
In the meantime, twenty UK prisons will test the chemical castration of sex offenders, the has said.
BBC reported:
“[Justice secretary] Shabana Mahmood said she would expand a small pilot in south-west England to two regions, after an independent sentencing review recommended it continue.
Mahmood is also exploring a national rollout of voluntary chemical castration for sex offenders, and whether it could be made mandatory. No timeline for this decision has been set.”
The drugs and psychiatric work of the Chemical will be used on sex offenders ‘who have compulsive and invasive thoughts about sex, or have problematic sexual preoccupations’.
“’It is vital that this approach is taken alongside psychological interventions that target other causes of offending, like asserting power and control’, she added.
‘For some, offending relates to power, but for another subset of offenders, the combination of chemical suppressants and psychological interventions, can, we believe, have a big and positive impact’.”
Read more:
Italian Parliament Begins Drafting Law To Treat Violent Sex Offenders With Chemical Castration
