The United Kingdom government is releasing 1,100 more prisoners early, as part of its emergency plan to ease overcrowding in jails in England and Wales.
Offenders serving more than five years will be released on licence after spending 40 per cent of their time behind bars, a scheme that excludes those convicted of serious violence, sex crimes and terrorism.
The second tranche of emergency releases since September comes as ministers launch a major review of sentencing that is likely to lead to new forms of punishment outside of jails.
The review aims to reduce overcrowding and could lead to judges having powers to sentence people to “prison outside prison” with a form of house arrest.
“We have to expand the use of punishment outside of prison,” Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“We have to have a long-term plan that gets us in a different position where prison has a place, and it works, keeps the public safe but also we do better at rehabilitating offenders as well.”
Tuesday’s early releases are the second part of the emergency plan announced by ministers days after the general election, amid dire warnings from officials that the jails were running out of space.
The scheme frees 5,500 spaces across England and Wales by releasing some offenders, to be monitored on a licence in the community, after 40% of their sentence behind bars, down from the standard 50%.
Many of those leaving jail on Tuesday will come from open prisons, meaning they have been working towards rehabilitation.
The prison population has been growing by around 4,500 a year – faster than previous governments had built new cells.
The justice secretary said the Labour government would build 14,000 spaces promised but not delivered by the Conservatives – but she also wanted to change the way sentencing works to prevent the overcrowding crisis repeating.
“We have an opportunity now to reshape and redesign what punishment outside of a prison looks like,” she said.
“It still has to be punishment, they still have to have their liberty curtailed, people have to know and believe there are consequences to breaking our laws,” she added.
The sentencing review will be led by David Gauke, a former Conservative justice secretary.
His report, expected next spring, will look at replacing short prison sentences with new forms of community punishment and using technology to improve rehabilitation.
Officials have already been looking at expanding the use of successful “sobriety tags” that monitor if an offender drinks alcohol.
They also want to look at the case for smart watch-like devices, piloted in some parts of the US, which send ‘nudge’ messages to offenders.
Trials have indicated they can improve how ex-offenders, who often live chaotic lives, comply with their rehabilitation.
Mahmood said whatever the final proposals, there should always be a cell available for dangerous offenders – a duty the system came perilously close to failing to meet this summer when it was down to less than 100 available spaces.
The current prison population is 87,465, with 1,671 vacant places remaining.
Andrew Nielson, campaigns director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, welcomed the sentencing review.
He told the BBC that Tuesday’s emergency prisoner releases were “a really blunt tool” and “far from an ideal situation” because some inmates will not be ready to return to the community.
“This only buys the government some time. By this time next year, if not sooner, they’ll be facing the same issues again,” he said. “That’s why the sentencing review is so important.”
BBC
