Thousands of prisoners are set to be released early on Tuesday (10/9) as the prisons watchdog warned it is “inevitable” some will reoffend.
Around 1,700 prisoners in England and Wales are expected to be let go on Tuesday before their sentences are served in a bid to cut overcrowding, in addition to the around 1,000 prisoners normally freed each week.
Downing Street said the policy had to be brought in to avoid “unchecked criminality” where the police and courts are unable to lock anyone up because there were no places available.
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said that the Government “had no choice but to do something” about overcrowding because “the bath was in danger of overflowing, and they either had to turn the taps off or they had to let some water out”.
But he also warned some of those released would be homeless which could increase their chances of reoffending.
Mr Taylor said: “It’s inevitable that some of these prisoners will get recalled to custody and it’s inevitable that some of them will go out homeless.
“If people are coming out, they’re not properly prepared, and they’re homeless, then what we’ll see is the danger that they’ll commit more offences, or that they breach their bail conditions, in which case they’ll end up back inside again.”
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, he also said the issue of prison overcrowding is harming prisoners’ prospects of rehabilitation.
He said: “Prisoners are locked in their cells for long periods of time, relationships with prison officers are often transactional and most importantly of all they’re not getting involved in the sort of purposeful activity, the education, the work, the training, that is going to make them less likely to reoffend when they come out.”
Mr Taylor’s comments came as his annual report was released, which said the number of prisoners is projected to grow by about 27,000 by 2028, meaning it is unlikely to be possible to build enough new accommodation.
The prison population reached a new record high of 88,521 people on Friday and has risen by more than 1,000 people over the past four weeks.
The report also detailed the “desperate” crisis in violence and drug use behind bars, as well as the lack of available rehabilitation that would keep people from reoffending.
Charities said the early release scheme will only “buy a little time” and would not provide a lasting solution in the face of “brutalising conditions”
Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform (HLPR), said prisons and probation needed to be completely reset after she described the “woeful education and training” for inmates and “squalor, self-harm, drugs, violence and unmet mental health needs, all in the midst of severe overcrowding”.
Meanwhile, the Prison Reform Trust (PRT) said prisoners are being “warehoused” and need to be spending time in education, training and work rather than “sharing an overcrowded cell for 23 hours a day”.
Pia Sinha, chief executive of the charity, said: “We cannot continue to warehouse people in these conditions and expect that things will be better when they’re released.”
On Monday it was revealed that some victims have been left unaware of the early release of the person responsible for committing a crime against them.
Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove branded this “regrettable” and said she had called for assurances this would not happen.
She said the early releases are “distressing for many victims who rightfully expect offenders will serve the sentence handed down by the court”.
The Government has said the early release scheme will not apply to those convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse or some violent offences.
Last month it emerged rioters were among those who could end up spending less time behind bars as the Government confirmed those involved in recent unrest would not be excluded from the early release plans.
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