ABSTRACT
Rehabilitation might not be the first thing that is thought of when considering sentencing in the criminal justice system. However, as criminological understanding of the reasons underlying offending have improved, the number of ways in which rehabilitation can be offered through sentencing has also increased. significant criticism of rehabilitation featuring at the sentencing stage could be that it does not feature any earlier in the process – by the point of sentencing the defendant already has a criminal conviction. Whilst the consequent help to tackle drug or alcohol misuse or mental health conditions might be welcome and effective, offenders are nonetheless going to experience the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction(s). Imprisonment for Public Protection has provided a salutary lesson in the need to approach not just the theoretical possibilities for rehabilitation, but to ensure that in practice there are the resources – in terms of funding, staff, and suitable prison places – to carry that ideal through to fruition.
