ShortSighted campaign: ending short prison sentences
Revolving Doors
Over the last decade, the use of short custodial sentences has remained stubbornly high, with over half of immediate custodial sentences given for less than 6 months and one in eight for less than a month. The majority of short sentences are for relatively minor and non-violent offences such as theft and summary non-motoring offences. In 2025 over 50,000 people received short prison sentences of 12 months of less.
100 members of our lived experience forums told us that repeat criminal justice contact is driven by multiple unmet needs, such as mental ill-health, problematic substance use, homelessness and domestic abuse. They told us that short prison sentences are particularly damaging – they do not provide enough time to rehabilitate, and disrupt housing, healthcare, family ties and employment and drive reoffending by turning difficult life circumstances into complete chaos. Revolving Doors members urged us to co-deliver a campaign against short prison sentences as a policy priority – that is how our #Shortsighted campaign kicked off in March 2018.
After years of consistent and strategic influencing Revolving Doors won and in March 2026 the Sentencing Act announced a presumption to suspend short sentences.
100 members of our lived experience forums told us that repeat criminal justice contact is driven by multiple unmet needs, such as mental ill-health, problematic substance use, homelessness and domestic abuse. They told us that short prison sentences are particularly damaging – they do not provide enough time to rehabilitate, and disrupt housing, healthcare, family ties and employment and drive reoffending by turning difficult life circumstances into complete chaos. Revolving Doors members urged us to co-deliver a campaign against short prison sentences as a policy priority – that is how our #Shortsighted campaign kicked off in March 2018.
After years of consistent and strategic influencing Revolving Doors won and in March 2026 the Sentencing Act announced a presumption to suspend short sentences.