Iceland Foods chief executive Richard Walker has suggested low-risk offenders could be redirected away from prison and instead be sentenced to a job at his supermarket.

Speaking to The Times Crime and Justice Commission, Walker and Iceland director of rehabilitation Paul Cowley proposed that criminals facing short prison terms could be given a job at Iceland as part of a suspended sentence, before they serve any prison time.

The proposals, which are in very early stages, were submitted via a letter to prison minister Lord Timpson, and have been suggested in a bid to reduce the UK’s overcrowded prison population and alleviate strain off the system.

Cowley said: “Before they get sentenced, then we’ll give them the opportunity to come and work for us. If you find the right category of men or women, and we’d probably work with women first.”

The initiatives would see the offenders serve time at the frozen food specialist, which Walker said would be good for business due to the high retention of staff among offenders.

Walker told the publication: “We have a prison 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.”

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Cowley added: “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.”

However, Crowley said there are exceptions to the proposals, with any offenders accused on arson or on the sex offenders register ineligible to apply for the role.

The senior executive said any candidates would have to undergo “serious vetting”, adding: “We can’t legally put people who are on the sex offenders register into public-facing businesses like Iceland Foods.

“We can’t take anyone with an arson conviction, because of insurance issues. With that, we don’t take anyone who is domestic violence with children involved. We don’t want to do that either,” said Crowley, while Walker added: “We know much more about their backgrounds than non-offenders.”

While the proposals mark the first time any supermarket has offered employment in replace of a prison sentence, Iceland in the past has recruited former offenders into its work force.

Last August, it hired 350 ex-offenders for roles including shop floor assistants and home delivery drivers, and since Cowley’s appointment in 2022, the retailer has employed over 680 offenders.