The Bishop of Gloucester has called for the criminal justice system to be more creative when handing down sentences.

Rt Rev Rachel Treweek was speaking in the light of the recent disorder in England and Northern Ireland which  led to hundreds of people being arrested and more than 100 people given custodial sentences. She told the Church Times that while rioters need to bear the consequences of their actions, she was “hugely disquieted” by the sentencing of young people and questioned whether they should have been handed prison terms. 13 people have so far been sent to young offenders’ institutions for their part in the disorder, with more awaiting sentencing.

Bishop Rachel, who is also the Church of England’s lead bishop for prisons, said electronic tagging should be used more, along with community service terms.

The number of people arrested during the unrest has put extra pressure on the prison service which is already close to capacity. Earlier this month, the government introduced emergency measures to crack down on overcrowding. The measures allow defendants to be held in police cells rather than prison while waiting to be sentenced.

Bishop Rachel says Christians can play a vital role in supporting prisoners and the prison service by getting involved in roles such as chaplaincy:

“If we believe that at the heart of the gospel is reconciliation and transformation, then surely we should be encouraging Christians” to get involved with this work.