MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK to try chemical castration for sex offenders to tackle prison overcrowding

Mahmood feared that British prisons might collapse

The United Kingdom will adopt on a trial basis a new program to chemically castrate sex offenders in 20 prisons across two regions to reduce recurrence rates by up to 60%, as part of broader sentencing reforms while addressing overcrowding at detention facilities, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced Thursday.

“I am exploring whether it is possible to impose this approach,” she said in a statement to Parliament. “Of course, it is vital that this approach is implemented alongside psychological interventions that address other causes of offending, such as assertion of power and control,” she added. “If our prisons collapse, courts are forced to suspend trials,” she further noted. The police must halt their arrests, crime goes unpunished, criminals run amok, and chaos reigns. We face the breakdown of law and order in this country.”

The measure involves the use of injectable drugs to suppress sexual desire, paired with psychological interventions targeting other causes of offending, like power and control.

The initiative follows similar practices in Germany, Denmark (voluntary), and Poland (mandatory for some). Additional reforms include early prisoner release, eliminating most sentences under 12 months (except for cases like domestic abuse), deporting foreign nationals with sentences of three years or less, and increasing probation funding by £700 million (US$ 930 million) annually.

The prison population in England and Wales has doubled to nearly 90,000 over 30 years, despite falling crime rates, due to longer sentences. Critics argue that scrapping short sentences risks “decriminalizing” crimes like burglary and assault and question the effectiveness of electronic tags. The government also plans a major prison expansion to replace outdated facilities.

The initiative was part of a comprehensive review by former Attorney General David Gauke, seeking to cut down recidivism and tackle prison overcrowding. In addition to early releases, the measure intends to grant judges ample flexibility to impose penalties such as driving bans. “If the government doesn't put the necessary resources into probation, the risk is that we won't make the progress on rehabilitation that we need, and there will be a public backlash against it,” Gauke argued.