Ken Clarke has outlined "radical" measures he says will tackle the "amazing" growth in the prison population.
In a speech at Kings College, the justice secretary suggested fewer criminals will be jailed and more offenders will get community sentences because prison does not work in many cases.
He described the 85,000 prison population in England and Wales as "astonishing" and demanded a radical new approach to cut reoffending.
Clarke said that keeping a prisoner in jail costs an average of £38,000 but this sometimes amounts to a "costly and ineffectual approach that fails to turn criminals into law-abiding citizens".
He said that some prisons just produce "tougher criminals" and there must be a greater focus on rehabilitation and "intelligent sentencing".
Plans include paying private firms and voluntary groups according to how many prisoners they rehabilitate.
"My first priority is the safety of the British public," he said.
"But just banging up more and more people for longer without actively seeking to change them is what you would expect of Victorian England."
The government will carry out a full review of sentencing policy to prioritise preventing crime, protecting the public and cutting reoffending rates.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Clarke said a sentencing review based on punishment and protecting the public was needed.
"Then looking at whether we shouldn't be developing alongside what we have done the proper ways of making sure people do not reoffend. By giving them the right range of sticks and carrots to make sure they don't commit crimes again," he said.
Shadow justice secretary Jack Straw has criticised the plans, insisting the increase in prison places under the Labour government has cut crime.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Straw accused Clarke of returning to the "hand-wringing" approach to crime that had existed under former home secretary Michael Howard's regime.
"He (Howard) deserves credit for turning the tide, as does the opposition leader at that time, Tony Blair, who encapsulated the need for a balanced policy with his call to be 'tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime'," Straw wrote.
"Now, though, in the crazy world of coalition government, Kenneth Clarke shows he has learnt nothing about fighting crime in the time since he was in charge of prisons 17 years ago."
Article Comments
We at Chance UK support Ken Clarke's intention to publish a full review of sentencing policy to prioritise preventing crime.
Our evidence and that of Featherstone and Evans, Barrett, Lock and Farrell et al clearly points to early intervention preventative programmes like Chance UK being far cheaper and more effective than interventions taking place after convictions.
If the coalition government is serious about reducing prison numbers and reducing the budget deficit, preventing people committing crimes in the first place through cheaper interventions like our innovative mentoring model must form a central part of the review.
Matt @ Chance UK
1st Jul 2010 at 12:02 pm
The Fear Factory Coalition welcomes Ken Clarke's proposals today made in a speech to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, echoing the views of The Fear Factory documentary which exposed 'the tough talk fallacy that has led to the current crisis in the criminal justice system' and revealed how crime and the fear of crime have been used by politicians contrary to the public interest for the last 30 years.
However, we are appalled by Jack Straw's subsequent backlash in The Daily Mail which flies in the face of evidence. With a prison population of over 84,000 and a reoffending rate of 60% - rising to almost 95% for young males, his arguments that prison does work are nothing but fear mongering and an attempt to ratchet up the law and order 'arms race' for his own political ends.
Rachel Bird
30th Jun 2010 at 3:25 pm
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