England and Wales begin first wave of early prison releases
About 700 prisoners were expected to be released on Thursday as the government seeks to ease overcrowding. The Ministry of Justice says those released will face strict supervision.
The first wave of England and Wales’s early-release scheme began on Thursday, with about 700 prisoners expected to leave jails across dozens of prisons. The government says the measure is intended to ease overcrowding.
The programme plans about 2,000 releases over the next month, followed by a further 3,000 in stages over the following year. The total was reduced from 6,000 after an intervention by Andy Burnham. People convicted of manslaughter are excluded, according to The Guardian’s report.
The Ministry of Justice said released offenders would be monitored under what it called the “toughest supervision in British history”. The department did not provide details in the report on how that supervision would work.
The prison population in England and Wales stood at 87,499 on Monday, up 1,738 from 29 June, according to Ministry of Justice data cited by The Guardian.
Victims’ commissioner Claire Waxman said the government’s confidence in the plan was “not yet matched by the reality on the ground”. The chair of the Commons justice committee, Catherine Atkinson, also raised concerns about pressure on probation and prison staff, electronic monitoring and the system’s readiness to manage offenders returning to communities.
