Offenders to be released early as prison system faces ‘collapse’, says minister

Thousands of prisoners are to be released earlier than planned as the UK Government attempts to avert the “collapse” of the prisons system.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood warned on Friday that without immediate action to address overcrowding, prisons would run out of space within weeks leading to “a total breakdown of law and order”.

In a speech at HMP Five Wells, in Northamptonshire, she said prisons were “on the point of collapse”, with barely 700 places left in the adult male estate and jails operating at 99% capacity since the start of 2023.

If prisons ran out of cell space, she warned, the country faced the prospect of “van-loads of dangerous people circling the country with nowhere to go”, police officers unable to arrest criminals and “looters running amok”.

‘Total breakdown’

She said: “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.”

The plans set out by Ms Mahmood would see a temporary reduction in the proportion of their sentence many prisoners must serve in jail from 50% to 40%.

This would not apply to violent offenders serving more than four years, sex offenders or those in prison for crimes connected to domestic abuse. Dangerous offenders serving extended or life sentences would also be exempted from the scheme.

The change is expected to come into force in September, with the Justice Secretary also announcing the recruitment of 1,000 additional trainee probation officers by March and an end to the previous government’s early release scheme, which saw 10,000 prisoners released up to 70 days early.

Ms Mahmood said there was now “only one way to avert disaster”, adding that the measures would “give us the time we need to address the prisons crisis”.

Crisis

Responding to the Justice Secretary’s statement, Plaid Cymru Westminster leader and Justice spokesperson, Liz Saville Roberts MP said: “Fourteen years of mismanagement and policy failures have resulted in a criminal justice system in deep crisis. Urgent reform is imperative to avoid disaster.

“Sixty percent of prisons across England and Wales are classified as crowded, with HMP Swansea at 145% of its capacity. Ten deaths have taken place in HMP Parc between February and June. Action to address prison overcrowding is welcome in this crisis, but it is crucial that probation and housing services are provided with additional funding while these changes are underway.

“It is paramount that any reform scheme centres on the voices, needs, and welfare of victims and survivors, with public safety as the highest priority. To ensure the safety of survivors, the wider public, and prisoners themselves, the scheme must be paired with increased investment in our probation service and vital rehabilitative services such as housing and health.

“The UK Government’s approach is just a temporary fix to deep-rooted failings. Plaid Cymru calls for the new Labour government to implement a credible, long-term plan to fully address this crisis.

“This plan should include community-based sentences for low-risk offenders, efforts to reduce the court backlog, decriminalisation of soft drugs, and strengthened cross-sector crime reduction and rehabilitation strategies through devolving justice powers to Wales.”