The Ministry of Justice has released figures showing the prison population in England and Wales has dropped by 2,188 in the space of a week, following the mass early release of offenders to combat overcrowding. As of 6 September, there were 88,521 prisoners, a record high, with only 1.2% capacity left in the system. However, the number of prisoners has since dropped to 86,333. The early release scheme, which permits offenders to leave jail early, applies to individuals who have served 40% of their sentence.
Initially devised by the previous Conservative government, the scheme was finally implemented by the Labour party with around 1,700 prisoners being released on 10 September. Offenders who have been in jail for serious violent offences with sentences of four years or more and sex offenders are not eligible for early release. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, on the other hand urged that there should not be a situation of releasing people who should be in prison but said the situation was at “crisis point”.
However, some victims’ advocates and probation union have harboured concerns about the scheme since its inception. The Napo probation union expressed fears that the scheme might put public safety at risk as it maybe a “ticking time bomb”. The domestic abuse commissioner has called for a nullification of the early release of prisoners who have been sentenced for any crime related to domestic abuse. The prime minister assured that risk assessments would make sure that high-risk prisoners would not be released.
The recent surge in the prison population started from 9 August, after violent disorder erupted across England and Northern Ireland, due to misinformation spread about the suspect in the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport on 29 July and anti-immigration sentiment. As of 6 September, police had arrested 1,380 people and prosecutors had brought 863 charges over the unrest, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council
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