Bar Council calls for pandemic restrictions to help reintegrate non-violent offenders into society and ease pressure on overcrowded jailsConditions similar to Covid lockdowns should be imposed on criminals as an alternative to overflowing prisons, barristers have told the government.In an official submission to an ongoing sentencing review led by former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke, the Bar Council called for consideration of more “creative use of punishment”. Ideas put forward by the body, which represents barristers in England and Wales, include enhanced home detention measures for non-violent offenders and “part-time prisons” that would help inmates reintegrate into society. Continue reading...