Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will appoint former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke to lead a review of prison sentencing, the BBC has confirmed.
Labor said in its election manifesto that sentencing would be reviewed “to ensure it is kept up to date”.
British Broadcasting Corporation reported earlier this month Gauke is the frontrunner to lead the review.
Justice Minister Shabana Mahmoud is expected to announce his appointment on Tuesday.
Gauck served as justice minister under May from January 2018 to July 2019.
He subsequently broke with the Conservative Party over the issue of Brexit and ran as an independent candidate in the 2019 general election, but failed. In July, he rejoined the Conservative Party.
Gauck has previously recommended the abolition of prison terms of less than six months.
Prisons minister Lord Timpson has also previously argued that prisons are overpopulated.
As well as scrapping short sentences, the review is expected to consider strengthening community orders as an alternative to prison.
Community orders can include Forcing someone to attend a rehabilitation program or perform unpaid work for the local area, such as removing graffiti.
People given a community order may also face restrictions on where they live or where they can go.
Some government sources suggested that advances in technology, such as sobriety tags that monitor alcohol consumption, could be used more widely to detain criminals at home.
Ministers are also exploring international examples of crime reduction in Texas and Louisiana, where prisoners can earn good behavior points to reduce their sentences.
The review is expected to make recommendations in the spring.
The government has had to tackle severe prison overcrowding in England and Wales since coming to power in July.
One of Labour’s first actions after winning the election was to implement the early release scheme set up by the previous government.
Under the plan, prisoners will be released after serving 40% of their sentence, instead of 50% as before.
The government says criminals who have been jailed for at least four years for violent crimes, sex offenders and domestic abusers are not eligible.
Last month, 1,700 inmates were released under the program and another 1,100 will be released on Tuesday.
The policy will be reviewed within 18 months.
The government defended the scheme, saying it “inherits a prison that is on the verge of crisis and collapse”.
A government spokesman added: “If this happens, the courts will not be able to hold trials and the police will not be able to make arrests.”
The Conservatives said the government’s “mismanagement” of the scheme had led to “serious public concerns” about it.
