Earlier releases for some inmates as prison system ‘creaking at every level’
The Government has revealed moves to free up space in jails across the UK because the prison system can’t cope with the numbers of new inmates being sentenced by the courts to serve time in custody
THE prison system is ‘creaking at every level’, a watchdog warned as ministers prepared to release some offenders from their sentences up to 60 days early to ease overcrowding.
The early release scheme will be extended from 35 days to 60 days from May 23, according to an email to prison and probation staff obtained by The Times.
The email setting out the extension of the release scheme said that despite measures introduced less than two months ago to free up space, prisons face ‘significant challenges’ and ‘pressures continue in the male estate’ in England and Wales, according to the newspaper.
Chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, said ‘there simply isn’t enough space’ despite ‘frantic’ attempts to increase capacity with temporary accommodation and two new jails.
“The number of places simply can’t keep pace with the number of people coming in,” he said.
“What we’re seeing at the moment is an estate that is creaking at every level under enormous pressure from the sheer churn and numbers of people within the system.”
He said prisoners needed support ‘to begin to be rehabilitated’ but ‘if they are simply left languishing in a cell, exposed to all kinds of drugs, further criminality, then the danger is actually they come out worse than they went in. That would result in ‘more victims of crime, more violence, more communities in mayhem’.
Mr Taylor said 24,000 more places were required by 2028 ‘and that just simply isn’t realistic in terms of building’.
He added: “So ultimately there needs to be a conversation about who we lock up, what we want people to do when they are locked up and how long we lock people up for.”
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, in March, extended the so-called end of custody supervised licence scheme ‘to around 35-60 days’, as Ministry of Justice (MOJ) statistics showed that prisons in England and
Wales were still nearing capacity.
The Government insisted the measure would be temporary and only apply to ‘low-level offenders’.
Ministers reportedly quietly authorised the latest change without any formal announcement.
During an urgent question in the Commons, Labour’s shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said the Government was making the changes ‘in secret’.
She said: “This is the price that the public is paying for a justice system in crisis and a Government in freefall.
“The Government is releasing prisoners, but not the facts. The strategy is clear for all to see, say nothing, try and get away with it and get to the other side of the general election. It’s shameless, and frankly, a disgrace.”
The MOJ said offenders freed early were under strict supervision. A spokesperson said: “We will always ensure there is enough capacity to keep dangerous offenders behind bars. “To ease the short-term pressures on prisons, in March we announced an increase in the number of days governors could move some offenders at the end of their prison term on to licence.”