England and Wales Free 700 Inmates Early as 4,500 Releases Aim to Ease 98.2% Prison Crowding
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 1
England and Wales Free 700 Inmates Early as 4,500 Releases Aim to Ease 98.2% Prison Crowding
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 1
Summary
700 prisoners were due out on Thursday in the first of 10 release waves, part of a plan to free about 4,500 inmates by June 2027.
87,499 people were in custody on Monday, pushing prisons in England and Wales to 98.2% capacity and prompting ministers to say early release is needed to avoid jails filling completely.
The scheme shortens time served for some fixed-term prisoners and now excludes crimes such as manslaughter, grooming and causing a child's death after the projected total was cut from about 6,000.
Electronic tagging, licence conditions and new restriction zones are meant to control released offenders, but victims' groups and probation inspectors say monitoring may be too weak and staffing too thin.
Government forecasts still show the prison population nearing 100,000 by decade's end, even as ministers promise £7 billion to add 14,000 cells by 2031.