The British government plans to introduce medication to suppress the sex drive of sex offenders as part of efforts to lower reoffending rates and ease overcrowding in prisons. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced in Parliament that “chemical castration” would be implemented in 20 prisons across two regions, with a possibility of making it mandatory. She emphasized that this method would be paired with psychological treatments addressing other factors like power and control.
The approach is not suitable for all sex offenders, such as those whose crimes are motivated by dominance rather than sexual urges, but studies suggest chemical castration can reduce reoffending by up to 60%. Countries like Germany and Denmark use the treatment voluntarily, while Poland mandates it for some offenders.
This initiative comes after an independent sentencing review led by former justice secretary David Gauke, which also recommended reforms to address prison overcrowding. Mahmood, who became justice minister when Labour returned to power last year, has already approved an early-release program to free up prison space. She warned that without intervention, the justice system risks collapse—impacting trials, police arrests, and public safety.
The review suggested giving judges more flexibility with sentences, scrapping sentences under 12 months except in serious cases like domestic abuse, and immediately deporting foreign nationals sentenced to three years or less. It also called for increased funding for probation services to improve offender rehabilitation and more resources for community monitoring programs.
In response, Mahmood allocated £700 million annually to probation services, highlighting that without proper investment, rehabilitation efforts will falter and public confidence may erode. Over the past three decades, the prison population in England and Wales has nearly doubled to about 90,000, despite falling crime rates, partly due to longer sentences under tough-on-crime policies.
Conservative justice spokesman Robert Jenrick criticized the plan to scrap short sentences, arguing it would essentially decriminalize offenses like burglary and theft. He also dismissed electronic tagging as ineffective in preventing reoffending. Mahmood countered that the current government is working to fix problems left by previous administrations and is undertaking the largest prison expansion since the 19th century.
