We’re imprisoning homeless people for ‘annoying’ crimes – then giving them a tent on release They are often the homeless people we are now stepping over in the street in exploding numbers

Some prisoners have been given tents when they are released because the local community rehabilitation company failed to find them accommodation. An investigation by councils in the North East found local homeless men had been released from prison and all they had been offered was a tent. In 2016 the chief inspector of prisons found that women released from Bronzefield prison, run by the French food company Sodexo, were given tents or sleeping bags on release.

Each year, some 60,000 men and women are given short prison sentences of less than six months. They tend to be convicted of annoying, minor offences and are often homeless, addicted and have health and mental health problems.

When Chris Grayling privatised the part of the probation service that supervises community sentences, he gave private companies the additional responsibility of supervising these people. If they fail to turn up to appointments or phone in, they can be returned to prison for three weeks. They are often the homeless people we are now stepping over in the street in exploding numbers.

Sent away with £46

Prisoners are given a discharge grant of £46 in cash, a sum that has not been increased for decades. The community rehabilitation companies are meant to do ‘through the gate’ support and find accommodation but, as the chief inspector of probation has reported, they are simply not doing it.

People given a custodial remand, the majority of whom do not get a prison sentence, are given no support and no money, they can simply be pushed out of prison without even the tent.

We all know, by experience and from evidence, that former prisoners need somewhere to live, something to do all day, and someone to care for them. The Howard League legal team fights every day to get children and young adults the support they need to lead law-abiding and positive lives, and housing is the often the biggest challenge we face.

Trapped in a cycle of homelessness and prison

The failure to build social housing for rent across the country means men and women are trapped in a cycle of homelessness and prison, with a tent or sleeping bag the only future on offer by authorities that are meant to be delivering justice. They stand little chance of getting off drugs or alcohol addiction or having their health needs cared for when they are sleeping rough.

It seems extraordinary that as a nation we are prepared to spend thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, locking up people because they are annoying, and only a danger to themselves, yet we are unable to invest in the kind of support that would stop them being a nuisance and could help them into a safer and better life.

Read more Women with poor mental health are being imprisoned unnecessarily. Some never make it out

The system is broken. Both the secretary of state, David Gauke, and the prisons minister, Rory Stewart, have repeatedly said short prison sentences have no value and are even counter-productive. While the rhetoric and leadership is welcome, as yet, apart from warm words, there is no sign of legislation to sort this out.

The recent report from the National Audit Office shows that the privatisation of community supervision has been an abject failure. The current plan proposed by the Government is to move the deckchairs round on the sinking ship by letting out new contracts to 10 companies instead of 21.

We need to reinvest in a public service to deliver community justice and get rid of the profit motive from the justice system. We need to abolish short prison sentences that only do damage and cost the taxpayer a fortune. We need to invest in housing and services to prevent crime, protect victims and give people a chance to have a future we would want for ourselves and our children.

Frances Crook is CEO of the Howard League for Penal Reform