Britain’s prisons are in crisis. The number of prisoners is rising, jails are becoming seriously overcrowded and re-offending rates are soaring.

With our prisons now officially full, emergency measures have seen the early release of over 18,000 prisoners, including over 3,000 violent offenders.

The current system clearly is not working. Half of all crime is committed by previous offenders and 65 per cent of prisoners re-offend within two years of release.

The measures laid out in our Green Paper are designed to restore confidence in the criminal justice system, re-design prisons for the 21st century, and launch a rehabilitation revolution.

• We will introduce honesty in sentencing so courts set a minimum and a maximum period of incarceration.

• We will replace automatic release with earned release.

• We will make community sentences tough and effective, with new sanctions including withdrawal of benefits for those who don’t attend.

• We will enforce Drug Rehabilitation Requirements by contracting with private and third sector organisations to operate treatment programmes and pay them by results.

• Offenders will compensate victims through a Victims’ Fund. Those serving custodial sentences will pay into the Fund through work in prison.

• Public sector prisons will be become ‘Prison and Rehabilitation Trusts’, with a single governor responsible for offenders after they are released as well as in prison.

• Prison and Rehabilitation Trusts and private sector prisons will be paid by results - with a premium awarded if the offender is not reconvicted within two years. Our rehabilitation revolution will unlock money currently used to reconvict and accommodate offenders who commit more crime and end up back in prison: up to £259 million a year, or £2,500 for every prisoner discharged.

• We will encourage social enterprises to expand prison industries where inmates can do proper work, learn skills and be paid.

• We will accelerate the deportation of foreign national prisoners.

• We will sell off old prisons and rejuvenate the prison estate. Our redevelopment plans will increase prison capacity by more than 5,000 places over and above Labour’s plans, to end overcrowding by 2016.

Making Britain safer and greener - Conservative Party

Good ideas ? ......what would you add or remove to improve these proposals ?