Justice secretary doubling custodial sentences will 'backfire' 

The latest attempt to ease the prisons' crisis will 'backfire', legal experts have warned.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the maximum custodial sentence that can be handed down by magistrates will be doubled to 12 months.

She said the measure, coming into force next month, could cut the backlog of 17,000 inmates on remand awaiting trial, and would help clear the Crown Court backlog by diverting cases to magistrates' courts.

But the Criminal Bar Association said the decision would see the number of inmates in England and Wales climb by up to 1,000. 

'This is a backfire, as it will sharply increase, in a matter of months, the overall prison population,' it said.

At the end of April there were 68,125 cases awaiting trial in the Crown court. The CBA estimates that figure is now 75,000.

It was revealed in September that Labour ministers are eyeing up plans to create an American-style prison where inmates can reduce their prison time by earning points for good behaviour.

Ms Mahmood is set to visit Texas to muster up some ideas of how Britain's struggling prison system can copy its success in lowering re-offending rates.

Inmates in the southern US state famed for cowboys can slash their prison sentence by earning points for stellar behaviours.

They are also awarded credits if they take part in workshops that face the underlying causes of their offending, for example substance abuse.

Prisoners can also enroll in vocational and educational training, sessions on drug rehabilitation and behavioural change to reduce their time behind bars.

According to The Times, it is believed that Prisons minister, Lord Timpson alongside the Justice Secretary are assessing whether a similar system could work on English and Welsh soil.

Currently a prisoners in the two countries are released depending on how dangerous they are to the public.