Criminals could be sentenced to work at Iceland instead of going to prison

Low-risk offenders could be sentenced to paid jobs at Iceland instead of jail, bosses have said.

CEO Richard Walker and his director of rehabilitation Paul Cowley wrote to the prisons minister Lord Timpson to discuss the idea, which is aimed at tackling prison overcrowding and reoffending rates.

The idea is in its early stages but would reportedly involve criminals who face short prison sentences or suspended sentences.

A role at Iceland could be part of a suspended sentence, where offenders walk free but are sent to prison if they breach certain conditions.

Walker told The Times: ‘We have a prisons crisis, and we have a solution that we think could be really powerful.

‘And look, if people mess up and they don’t turn up for work, then they do go inside.

‘If it all goes well, then that’s your sentence. You don’t go to prison. You don’t lose your home, kids don’t go into care.

‘And if it doesn’t, and it all goes pear shaped, then it’s a suspended sentence which kicks in.

‘But it’s an opportunity to get rid of a custodial sentence. And I believe, and the company believes, that that would have some impact on reducing reoffending and our prison population.’

Company bosses say they’ve consulted two former attorneys-general who said the idea is legally feasible.

More than 1,300 ex-offenders have either been employed or given job offers by Iceland over the past three years.

The company has strict rules on which types of offenders can work at its stores and Walker said candidates would have to undergo ‘serious vetting’.

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