The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, LATEEF FAGBEMI has called on sentencing judges and magistrates in the country to embrace the effective use of non-custodial measures.

FAGBEMI made the call in his address while declaring open a two-day workshop on the implementation of non-custodial measures and sentencing guidelines under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.

The Minister of Justice stated that the purpose of non-custodial measures is to find effective alternatives to imprisonment for offenders in accordance with the current global shift in punishing convicts with alternatives to prison terms.

He also noted that the use of non-custodial measures will facilitate the reduction of the correctional facility population to the barest minimum in line.

He also expressed concern about the increasing number of minor offenders being remanded in prisons with hardened criminals, leading to their initiation into a life of crime.