Around 1,700 prisoners were being freed on Tuesday in the first wave of early release to ease the overcrowding crisis in jails despite new warnings that some are certain to reoffend.
Each of the inmates being released will have served only 40 per cent of the prison term they were handed by the courts in an emergency measure ordered by the Government to stop jails running out of space for new suspects and convicts.
Those convicted of serious sex offences, terrorism, domestic offences and some violent crimes are excluded from the release scheme in an attempt to protect the public.
But after earlier warnings from domestic abuse campaigners that some men who pose a threat to women but were jailed for other crimes will still be let out, both the prison and probation watchdogs warned that some of the convicts freed today will reoffend.
Martin Jones, the chief inspector of probation, told the BBC that it was “a certainty that some will reoffend and there’s a small risk that some of those offences will be serious”.
He added that others would also have to be returned to custody for breaching the licence conditions of their release.
Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, also warned that the early release of around 1,700 inmates on Tuesday on top of the 1,000 who are normally released each week was “concerning” and that some would be back in prison within days.
“There is no doubt that some of the people coming out are risky and by the prison service’s own definition a fair proportion of people coming out will be designated as high risk of harm,” he told Radio 4’s Today programme.
“These are the people who need most preparation — they need community services to be ready to look after them when they come out, they need to have licence conditions set and in place, and they need somewhere stable to live.”
Mr Taylor added, however, that “the Government had no choice” because prisons were “completely running out of space” and used the publication of his annual report on the state of jails today to call for far-reaching reforms to ensure inmates could be released more safely in future.
He said key changes should include better security to stop widespread drug use in prisons and measures to ensure that education and training were made a priority.
A steady stream of prisoners was seen being released from HMP Brixton in south London on Tuesday morning. Among them was Shane Devlin, 36, who told the Sun he had been released a month early after serving a year behind bars, for actual bodily harm.
He appeared to question the merit of the early release scheme, saying: “All they’re going to do is put the people from the riots in. They’re just going to empty it out and fill it up with new people. Plus most people reoffend so they’ll be straight back in.”
It is thought London prisoners will make up around 300 of the 1,700 convicts who were being given early release today. It follows the publication of official figures last week showing the prison population in England and Wales at a record high of 88,521, leaving only 1,098 places available.
