A local politician here (Colorado, US), advocating for public transit, said that congestion was so bad "We cannot just pave our way out of this problem". This is the kind of rejoinder that leaves the victim so stunned by its stupidity that the user is able to make an escape before being called on it. He probably also thinks that long silences that follow some of his loonier offerings are a result of his audience being bowled over at the majesty of his intelligence.
The problem here was caused by 20 years of neglect of the highway system in the face of a rising population. Putting more criminals on the streets will certainly ease the overcrowding problem in the prisons, but what about the rest of you? Society needs roads and jail cells in proportion to the population. Be warned: If you build the prisons, the next pronouncement will be "Prison population grows in spite of diminished crime rates".

Bill Llewellin, Littleton, Colorado/USA

Can some one please explain to me why expanding the prison estate is not a workable long term option.

If criminals commit offences that are deemed worthy of custodial sentences, then should not our government ensure there are sufficient prison places available?

Jo, London,

Seems to me if inmates didn't live in such comfortable conditions we could fit it more into the prisons and have less chance of repeat offenders, due to a harsher environment.

Katy, Ayr, Scotland

I think that Mr Straw should come & live within the communites that will be the most affected by letting these 'people' out. There is no incentive for people not to offend anymore ,our country is in 'civilised anarchy' . My husband & myself both work full time,very hard for all the material things that we own & resent being burgled whilst i am at work or sleeping in my bed at night. Maybe if we made people work instead of claiming off us & smoking weed all day the country would be a better place to live,being decent,honest ,moralistist,responsible,law abiding & hard working gets you nothing but expensive insurance premiums & tax inflation.We lve in a country where adults are being victimised by children & nothing is done,ASBO's are a waste of time its just a badge of honour for those who have them.... when will MP's start to listen to the decent man & woman on the street,we keep the country afloat without getting back.I am proud to be British but i am not proud of Britain.

M sprake, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire

Surely the time has come to simply dispense with custodial sentences for lighter offences, such as robbery, theft, murder, terrorism, fraud, and the like, and reserve our prisons for the real criminals of our day, such as the motorist, the pensioner who cannot pay their council tax, and Tony Martin. This would also avoid the problem that the EU Human Rights Act makes it illegal to jail the former class anyway.

Alternatively we could vote BNP. If they really are Nazis -- which seems improbable -- then they will be good at locking people up. If not, then they will at least not come out with nonsense like this.

Roger Pearse, Ipswich,

As we appear to be importing most of our criminals (visit any magistrates court any day of the week) lets start deporting some instead of jailing them and their families to go with them also.
Perhaps some alarm bells will start ringing within these criminal communities.
How can you fine people who have no money? (supposedly)
Again if you attend a court session you will see that a means test form is filled out prior to sentencing and this is used by the Defense to reach decisions on payment of fines in discussion with magistrates.
These forms are not validated in any way.
You see offenders laughing as they leave the court smothered in gold and wearing designer clothes as they go to their cars secure in the knowledge that theirfines will not be paid even at tuppence a week.
Its only hard working citizens who fall foul of traffic offences that get hammered not your real criminals. The easy touches.

Dek Crossingham, Birmingham, England

Being sent to prison is supposed to be a punishment, a deterrent to others , security for the public and... to re-habilitate.
I would think that that is roughly the right order of prority as well. ie No 1 is punishment. Make prisons places which no one will enjoy. Make it somewhere potential criminals will fear, dread, hate. By doing that, sentences may well be able to be reduced - if reoffending is drastically reduced.
This is an obvious, commonsense approach, often quoted but never listened to by those in charge. Try it...if it doesn't work, think again! Either way it is cheaper than the system we have..eg we wouldn't need to compensate prisoners for being deprived of their dvd recorders for a few days.

Mid J., Guangzhou, China

Jack Straw is plain wrong and a fool for pretending that the provision of enough prison space is somehow too difficult to achieve. Soft sentencing has long been the reason for repeat offenders not changing their ways and there will be no improvement until we acknowledge the failed policy of community punishments. "National conversation"? What a limp-wristed and meaningless response from one of our longest serving and least effective ministers.

Alan Johnson, Alton,

Tail wagging the dog?

The criminal justice system should be responsible for deciding whether or not people should be detained 'at her majesties pleasure' (not a transient politician)

Nobody ever, has yet put forward a robust alternative solution to jail. Im suprised Jack Straw believes a 'national conversation' (what is that anyway?) will generate something new.

Surely the real issue here is the lack of 'capacity planning' by the home office? 3/4 years ago statistical trending should have shown that full capacity would be breached sometime soon in the future, and as such new jail capacity would be needed.

christian gale, London, Surrey

If this Government's obsession with league tables and targets could be set aside and Probation staff allowed greater face to face contact with offenders, rather than presently spending 80% of their working day sat in front of computers, then there would be a greater chance of success with Community sentences.

Like parenting children, changing people's behaviour starts with making relationships with them, not filling in computer software!

Send the most dangerous to prison and for heavens sake build more secure units and psychiatric units for those needing specialst help, rather than locking them up in a generic prison regime. No wonder the suicide rate is at its highest ever. People with depression and at risk to themselves need specialist help.

Philip Harknett, WIMBORNE, Dorset,

Jack Straw always was a bit of a wet politician, and his latest ramblings about community punishments and fewer criminals serving time is testament to the fact. The law provides that a burglar for example, can be sentenced to up to ten years. Burglars are repeat offenders, and just one can decimate a community, bringing misery and a heightened sense of insecurity in the lives of countless ordinary families. As a former police officer i can testify to the fact that all too often burglars are dealt with in the magistrates' court, where unpaid and often ill-informed magistrates opt for community punishments, or woefully lenient periods of incarceration A look at the prison figures will no doubt reveal both the reason for prison overcrowding, and high rates of reoffending. It is because prisons are full of offenders serving a few months, which offers no real deterrent, seeing them return time and again. I hope Brown's government has more spine than its Justice Secretary

will richards, Droitwich,

Prison should be used mainly for violent offenders. It is foolish to put in prison cases like fraudsters where they could be deprived of property etc in order to repay victims. It costs between £500 to £600 per week to keep someone inside. This does not take into account their families who inevitably end up being cared for by the state. Drug offenders can be treated outside if addicts and only pushers kept inside. So many crimes are committed to pay for habits. Why not decriminilise all drugs and sell them in Boots? At a stroke the profit margin would collapse and you would see a collapse of the crime empires. Unfortunately it is not possible in the UK to have an open debate on these matters.

catherine cohen, mijas malaga, spain

Labour is reaping the results of the society it has been busy building over the last decade. Having shirked its responsibility (like the society it has promoted), it is casting around for an easy exit route. There is none.

Society and the government has lacked one vital lesson in life: Success requires application. Perhaps the real reason our government is lowering the bar for educational achievement in our schools is because in the absence of competence within its own ranks, it is being forced to lower the bar of its own success.

Edwin Thornber, Bucharest,

Why bother detecting crime at all. We could devolve the system to vigilante organisations delivering arbitary justice at the point of contact using bicycle chains, pickaxe handles and, in extreme cases, lengths of rope. In this way we obviate the need for ruinously expensive police forces, criminal justice system and a largely useless prison service. God save the Mark!! When is our government going to address the problem of a drug fuelled self-centred crumbling society? We have had fifty years of do-gooders watering down prison sentences on the grounds that it should be for re-habilitation, not punishment. We need to get back to the situation where prison becomes a deterrent, and if that means building over half of Britain to provide prisons then that is what we should do. It would ease some of the pressure for new housing anyway.
Straw should remember that lukewarm sentencing encourages more career criminals.

Mike Poulsen, Reading, Berkshire

Shouldn't he count the growth in criminals before saying we should send less to prison?

jj, Cambs, UK

Just make it tough so they do not want to go there, they are like holiday camps.

Mike, Paphos, Cyprus

The West Lothian question must be addressed. It is futile for politicians to try to continually sweep it under the carpet. It will eventually lead to MPs being de selected, if they do not support the view that Welsh and Scottish parliamentarians should not vote on purely English matters.

Gordon Cooling, Wetherby, West Yorkshire

This is the reason we have over-crowded jails, because people know that they will only do a short time in jail. If you want to decrease the prison population make sure longer jail terms are handed out this will deter people turning to crime. Jack Straw, you are a fool an utter fool!

Ray Morgan, Liverpool, Merseyside

More violent offenders on the street = more violent offences on the street. Suddenly I feel a whole lot un-safer. Thank you Mr Straw.

Isn't it the Governments job to protect its citizens ? Or did I just make that up ?

RA, Lincoln, England, UK.

It is disgusting that Scotish MPs can vote on purely English matters. It is time the West Lothian question was addressed, all the Union will eventually fail.

Martin, London,

The Legal Profession should stop sending innocents to prison on the flimsiest of evidence in the first place.

The "we can get a conviction" statistic chasers are the root cause of prison over crowding.

Steve, Bournemouth, England

Surely we should only be considering custodial sentences for the over sixties who default on local council tax payments - there is no more hideous crime against society!

peterj, Aberdeen, Scotland

Of course greasy Jack would oppose any move to prevent Scottish and Welsh MP's voting on things
only English. If this happened labour would find it difficult to get things passed.The question I would ask
is why should these MP's be allowed to vote unless
they let English MP's vote on Scottish and Welsh
matters,can you see that happening?

Barry Holmes, Christchurch, New Zealand