Blitz Bureau
IN a significant decision announced recently, the new Labour government will release early thousands of prisoners to avoid an overcrowding crisis in some of the UK’s old and crumbling jail buildings.
Verge of collapsing
“Our prisons are on the point of collapse,” said the new Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood as she set out how the government will stop the impending collapse of the criminal justice system. The Lord Chancellor explained that if prisons were to run out of places, courts would be forced to delay sending offenders to jail and police unable to arrest dangerous criminals – a crisis which would leave the public at risk from unchecked criminality.
With only hundreds of places left in the adult male estate, prisons have been routinely operating at over 99 percent capacity since the start of 2023, said a Ministry of Justice statement on July 12. Prison cells are expected to run out within weeks, it added, and that the Lord Chancellor made clear that the Government must act now to stop this situation from playing out.
Originally launched in October 2023, an early release scheme was brought in to address capacity pressures on the prison estate. Prisoners were initially released 18 days early, but the measure has been repeatedly expanded over the last six months. Over the course of the scheme, over 10,000 offenders were released.
Reducing sentences
Now, the government will temporarily reduce the proportion of certain custodial sentences served in prison from 50% to 40%, with important safeguards and exemptions to keep the public safe and clear release plans to manage them safely in the community. Sentences for serious violent offences of four years or more, as well as sex offences will be automatically excluded. The early release of offenders in prison for domestic abuse connected crimes will also be excluded.
