UK SET TO RELEASE THOUSANDS OF PRISONERS DUE TO OVERCROWDING

Read Time:2 Minute, 14 Second

Agency Report

In an effort to stop the “collapse” of the prison system, thousands of inmates will be released early, starting in September, the UK’s new justice minister said on Friday.

Refusing to do so, according to Shabana Mahmood, may lead to a “total breakdown of law and order,” as there are just 700 spots available for men and jails have been running at 99 percent capacity since 2023.

In Western Europe, England and Wales have the highest rates of incarceration per inmate.

The release effort would not apply to life sentences, sex offenders, violent offenders serving longer than four years in jail, or those incarcerated for domestic abuse offenses.

The chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, said this week that urgent action was required, as prisons were at “breaking point”.

Mahmood, appointed last week after Labour’s general election win, warned in dramatic language that if prisons ran out of cell space, there could be “van-loads of dangerous people circling the country with nowhere to go”.

“With officers unable to act, criminals could do whatever they want, without consequence. We could see looters running amok, smashing in windows, robbing shops and setting neighbourhoods alight,” she said in a speech at a prison.

“In short, if we fail to act now, we face the collapse of the criminal justice system. And a total breakdown of law and order.”

Under the plans, prisoners who are eligible for automatic release after serving half their sentence will be freed earlier than the normal.

The plans involve a temporary reduction of how long prisoners must serve behind bars, from 50 percent to 40 percent of their sentence.

The releases will start in September to give the Prison and Probation Service time to plan.