Rehabilitation revolution aims to cut overcrowding in prisons (VIDEO)

The coalition Government will today outline its vision for a rehabilitation revolution in law and order which would lead to fewer offenders being jailed.

It comes a day after David Cameron questioned the worth of short prison sentences while fielding queries from an audience of Yorkshire Post readers in Leeds.

Responding to a question from a leading barrister, the Prime Minister said he believed short jail terms were needed to deter persistent criminals who regularly offend or fail to pay fines.

But he added more should be done to make sure community punishments were "meaningful".

"If you can give good community punishments then you can probably keep more people out of prison," he said.

"You can't get rid of all short-term prison sentences but I accept there is a good case to say – when sending someone to prison for a few weeks or a few months there's no time to reform them, rehabilitate them or train them, so what's the point?"

The issue was raised by the leader of the Bar on the North Eastern Circuit, Stuart Brown QC, who queried how the plan could be achieved as probation services face budget cuts.

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke is expected to criticise short jail sentences today when he reveals plans to reduce the prison population, which has doubled to more than 85,000 since the early 1990s.

"Just banging up more and more people for longer without actively seeking to change them is what you would expect of Victorian England," he is expected to say in a speech to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at Kings College, London. "It is time we focused on what is right for today's communities.

"In our worst prisons it produces tougher criminals. Many a man has gone into prison without a drug problem and come out drug dependent. Petty prisoners can meet up with some new hardened criminal friends."

Mr Clarke will highlight that, of the 60,000 prisoners given short jail terms each year, about 36,000 reoffend within 12 months.

"It is virtually impossible to do anything productive with offenders on short sentences, and many of them end up losing their jobs, their homes and their families during their short term inside."

The Government plans to involve voluntary bodies and private companies in the rehabilitation of criminals, and to pay organisations by their results in reducing offending.

The approach is intended to save taxpayers' money while giving organisations clear financial incentives to keep offenders away from crime.