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Thousands of UK prisoners are being released early due to a new early release scheme implemented by the government to ease pressure on the prison service and free up jail space. While this might seem like good news, concerns have been raised over the possibility of released prisoners being unable to find suitable accommodation, leading to an increase in homelessness and reoffending likelihood. Plans to give prisoners on “standard determinate sentences” early release will begin this week. As a result, ministers plan to release up to 5,500 prisoners over September and October.
Figures have shown that 12% of people leaving prison in England and Wales – 8,355 individuals – were released straight into rough sleeping in 2020. This figure was 2,310 higher than the previous year. After three months of release, 3,000 were still on the street. Nick Hardwick, the former chief inspector of prisons, has said he believes “a lot of those released will end up homeless because there simply isn’t the accommodation for them.”
The shortage of available housing, along with an unwillingness from some private landlords to rent to people with a criminal record, both contribute to the problem of homelessness following release from prison. This makes finding appropriate housing for individuals who have been released from custody even harder. People can be released without the support and housing in place required, which can set them up to fail. The cycle of becoming homeless again after being released from custody and then returning to prison is something that Steven from Brighton, a volunteer with charity Sussex Homeless Support, has commented on.
The Local Government Association believes that the early release programme may have an adverse effect on councils’ ability to prevent and manage homelessness. A spokesperson said that, while councils do try to prevent homelessness, the shortage of affordable housing makes this progressively more difficult. There is a concern that the shortage of accommodation for prisoners being released early could cause a bottleneck situation where many prisoners are released simultaneously, unable to find a place to live
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