Siddhartha Bandyopadyay

The relationship between sentencing practices and the official crime rate was discussed last week at a packed event hosted by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.

The event – Alternatives to custody: Data and policy perspectives – was organised jointly with the University of Birmingham.

On Friday, 25 September, the preliminary findings of research led by economist Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay on the relative effectiveness of non-custodial sentences will be presented at a workshop at the University of Birmingham. 

There will also be talks by:

There is a shaky evidence base for incredibly long sentences (100 years plus), Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay, Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Birmingham argues in a recent post on The Conversation.

Following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that life sentences without parole are a breach of human rights, the government has proposed extra long sentences as an alternative.

But Dr Bandyopadhyay argues that 'the logic behind 100-year sentences is weak'. He adds: