https://sputnikglobe.com/20240716/uk-early-prison-release-faces-challenges-thousands-of-prisoners-to-be-released-1119385610.html
UK Early Prison Release Faces Challenges, Thousands of Prisoners to be Released
UK Early Prison Release Faces Challenges, Thousands of Prisoners to be Released
Sputnik International
In an effort to combat overcrowding, the UK will plan to release thousands of prisoners at the start of September.
2024-07-16T05:34+0000
2024-07-16T05:34+0000
2024-07-16T05:34+0000
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In an effort to combat overcrowding, the UK will plan to release thousands of prisoners at the start of September. UK Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said her plan would allow some prisoners to be released after they have served just 40% of their sentence in England and Wales, rather than the current 50%.But the head of a prisons watchdog has warned that the early-release program could face a “challenge”, because a previous plan saw prisoners sent “straight back” to prison, Financial Times reported. Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, warned ministers that they need to properly prepare prisoners before their release.“Certainly, it’s always going to be a challenge when you introduce any sort of scheme like the government has introduced.”But according to the report, Taylor admitted that an early release plan may be the best to tackle problems with overcrowding in prisons.For weeks leading up to the UK’s recent general election, the UK government had been warned that overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales was reaching an “operational breaking point”, Tom Wheatley, president of the Prison Governors’ Association told the Financial Times in early July.Wheatley also warned at the time that the UK’s criminal justice system would likely “grind to a halt” if immediate changes were not implemented. According to Wheatley, the recent Conservative government had ignored repeated warnings about overcrowding. He explained that official data had shown jails would not be able to take in any more inmates within “a week or two” of the UK general election.Mahmood echoed Wheatley’s sentiments, and also warned of the “total collapse” of the prison system and a “total breakdown of law and order” without urgent action to address prison overcrowding. The justice secretary accused Rishi Sunak and the former Conservative government of a “disgraceful dereliction of duty” for failing to address the issue.Mahmood said the first batch of prisoners released will be “in the low thousands”, and further releases will take place over the next 18 months. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) told BBC that they estimate up to 4,000 male prisoners and fewer than 1,000 female prisoners will be released under these new measures, BBC reported.Ex-Labour MP Harriet Harman spoke out about the number of women being locked up for non-violent crimes. She told the BBC that most women in prison have been victims of violence, and that 40% of female prisoners in UK jails are foreign nationals who should be serving their sentences in their own countries.Regarding the crimes of those being released: sentences for serious violent offenses of four years or more and sex offenses will be excluded from the change, as well as the early release of offenders in prison for domestic abuse-related crimes like stalking and choking.Mahmood acknowledged that the plan for early prison release may not be popular with some, but said she had been “left with no choice at all” due to the previous government’s lack of action.The most recent statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on June 28 showed the prison population standing at 87,360, while the capacity (with assigning two prisoners to the same cell) is 88,818 in England and Wales.
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UK Early Prison Release Faces Challenges, Thousands of Prisoners to be Released
The UK justice secretary said jails had been operating at 99% capacity since the start of last year.
In an effort to combat overcrowding, the UK will plan to release thousands of prisoners at the start of September. UK Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said her plan would allow some prisoners to be released after they have served just 40% of their sentence in England and Wales, rather than the current 50%.
But the head of a prisons watchdog has warned that the early-release program could face a “challenge”, because a previous plan saw prisoners sent “straight back” to prison, Financial Times reported. Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, warned ministers that they need to properly prepare prisoners before their release.
“We saw with the early release scheme that was being done by the last government that quite a lot of guys were being released and coming straight back into custody on recall,” Taylor told Financial Times, adding that some prisoners do not have homes to go to when they are released.
“Certainly, it’s always going to be a challenge when you introduce any sort of scheme like the government has introduced.”
But according to the report, Taylor admitted that an early release plan may be the best to tackle problems with overcrowding in prisons.
For weeks leading up to the UK’s recent general election, the UK government had been warned that overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales was reaching an “operational breaking point”, Tom Wheatley, president of the Prison Governors’ Association told the
Financial Times in early July.
Wheatley also warned at the time that the UK’s criminal justice system would likely “grind to a halt” if immediate changes were not implemented. According to Wheatley, the recent Conservative government had ignored repeated warnings about overcrowding. He explained that official data had shown jails would not be able to take in any more inmates within “a week or two” of the UK general election.
Mahmood echoed Wheatley’s sentiments, and also warned of the “total collapse” of the prison system and a “total breakdown of law and order” without urgent action to address prison overcrowding. The justice secretary accused Rishi Sunak and the former Conservative government of a “disgraceful dereliction of duty” for failing to address the issue.
Mahmood said the first batch of prisoners released will be “in the low thousands”, and further releases will take place over the next 18 months. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) told BBC that they estimate up to 4,000 male prisoners and fewer than 1,000 female prisoners will be released under these new measures, BBC reported.
Ex-Labour MP Harriet Harman spoke out about the number of women being locked up for non-violent crimes. She told the BBC that most women in prison have been victims of violence, and that 40% of female prisoners in UK jails are foreign nationals who should be serving their sentences in their own countries.
Regarding the crimes of those being released: sentences for serious violent offenses of four years or more and sex offenses will be excluded from the change, as well as the early release of offenders in prison for domestic abuse-related crimes like stalking and choking.
Mahmood acknowledged that the plan for early prison release may not be popular with some, but said she had been “left with no choice at all” due to the previous government’s lack of action.
The most recent statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on June 28 showed the prison population standing at 87,360, while the capacity (with assigning two prisoners to the same cell) is 88,818 in England and Wales.
