Chemical castration of sex offenders to be piloted in 20 prisons says Mahmood

A total of 20 prisons are to pilot the chemical castration of sex offenders, the Justice Secretary has said.

The Government is exploring whether to enforce the chemical castration on offenders as mandatory, Shabana Mahmood told MPs, after recommendations from the independent sentencing review to explore its use further to reduce the risk of reoffending.

The review led by former justice secretary David Gauke recommended reforms to overhaul the prisons system and make sure there is space to jail the most dangerous offenders after a string of emergency measures to deal with the capacity crisis.

It also looked at ways to cut reoffending, with one proposal to consider further use of chemical suppressants, currently being piloted in south-west England.

In a statement to the Commons, Ms Mahmood said: “The review has recommended we continue a pilot of so-called medication to manage problematic sexual arousal.

“I will go further with a national rollout, beginning in two regions covering 20 prisons.

“And I am exploring whether mandating the approach is possible.

“Of course, it is vital that this approach is taken alongside psychological interventions that target other causes of offending, like asserting power and control.”

Problematic sexual arousal can be reduced by chemical suppressants and prescribed medication, but the review highlighted the treatment would not be relevant for some sex offenders such as rapists driven by power and control, rather than sexual preoccupation.

The Government has not yet confirmed which regions or prisons will be part of the pilot scheme.

Downing Street also would not be drawn into saying whether it thought chemical castration of paedophiles was a punishment for offenders.

Asked about proposals to enforce chemical castration on sex offenders as mandatory, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “The scientific evidence is clear that the use of chemical suppressants may well be effective in tackling dangerous offenders, and that is why we are expanding the use of it.”

Reacting to the move, Prison Reform Trust chief executive Pia Sinha said forcing medical treatment raises “clear ethical considerations” which could put medical practitioners in an “invidious” position.

While criminal defence solicitor Marcus Johnstone, of PCD Solicitors, said it “won’t solve anything in the long run without adequate funding for counselling and psychological support that is critical to helping the rehabilitation of sex offenders into society”.

Elsewhere, the Justice Secretary accepted reforms to allow some criminals, including violent and sexual offenders, to be released at an earlier point in their sentence if they show good behaviour.

“If they follow prison rules, they will earn earlier release. If they do not, they will be locked up for longer,” she said.

Terrorists or the most dangerous offenders serving extended sentences would not be eligible for any early release scheme.

The Government has also agreed to scrap the use of short sentences of less than 12 months, apart from exceptional circumstances such as domestic abuse cases, and extend the length of suspended sentences from two to three years.

The Probation Service will receive a funding boost of up to £700 million by 2028/29 to meet the extra demand of more offenders serving their sentences in the community.

Ms Mahmood: “By the final year of the spending review period an annual £1.6 billion will rise by up to £700 million, allowing us to tag and monitor tens of thousands more offenders.”

But reacting to the move, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said tags are as useful as “smoke alarms putting out bonfires” when it comes to stopping reoffending.

Meanwhile, chairman of the parliamentary Justice Committee and Labour MP Andy Slaughter said the policy changes and extra resources the Government has agreed to “will be enough” to bring the prison numbers under control.

“But in the longer term only effective rehabilitation to end the cycle of reoffending will see complementary falls in crime and in prison overcrowding,” he said.

The chief executive of charity Nacro, Campbell Robb, said the promise of £700 million to invest in probation is “significant”, but added: “Extra resources must extend beyond probation and into the community support services helping people with housing, employment and to address their mental health and substance misuse issues.”

Ms Mahmood also pledged to introduce measures which will help with “better identifying domestic abusers at sentencing, so that we can monitor and manage them more effectively”.

She said the Government “will extend a pilot of free sentencing transcripts for victims of rape and serious sexual offences” as the review also seeks to overhaul the justice system to serve victims.

But campaign group Justice for Victims described the review as not appearing to have made a “serious effort” to understand what victims and families want in sentencing policy.

“What we wanted to see was a proper recognition of the enormous impact the most serious crime has on victims and their families and to see that suitable punishment reflects that,” they said in a statement.

“Instead it recommends some of the most serious offenders, like rapists & child abusers, are going to spend less time in prison.”

The shake-up comes as ministers have introduced a series of emergency measures to free up jail space to “buy time” before the sentencing reforms are believed to take effect next spring.

Ms Mahmood has said despite record prison building expansion, demand for prison places will outstrip supply by 9,500 in early 2028.

Latest figures show the prison population in England and Wales is 88,103, just 418 below the record of 88,521, which was reached on September 6 last year.

Responding to the Government accepting most of the recommendations, but rejecting earned release for those serving extended sentences, Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Andrea Coomber KC said the prisons crisis “will not be solved by half measures”.

“There are still many difficult questions to be faced and answered. If the Government ducks them, its promises on prison capacity will go unfulfilled,” she said.

Published: 22/05/2025 by Radio NewsHub