Judges told to favour community alternatives over short prison sentences

Sentencing review to be published on Thursday aims to ease prison capacity crisis' and reduce reoffending

Judges and magistrates in England and Wales will be told to move away from handing out short custodial sentences in favour of community-based alternatives in a long-awaited sentencing review to be announced on Thursday.

Amid concern that the criminal justice system could collapse because of overcrowding in prisons, the former Tory justice secretary David Gauke will call for suspended sentences to be made available for custodial sentences of up to three years, instead of the current two.