UK to free 5,000 serious offenders to avert jail collapse
The UK government will release thousands of serious offenders early this autumn to prevent the total collapse of an overstretched prison system.
The UK will release more than 5,000 prisoners early from September, including individuals convicted of rape, manslaughter and grievous bodily harm. Justice Secretary David Lammy confirmed the policy will reduce the minimum time served from two-thirds to half of a sentence.
The emergency measure is a direct response to a looming capacity crisis across jails in England and Wales. Without early releases, Lammy warned that prison capacity would reach 99 or nearly 100 percent by November, leaving nowhere to detain newly arrested criminals. “It is hugely important that when the perpetrators of this crime are arrested, they can be sent to prison,” he said.
The policy has sparked significant internal opposition. Labour MPs, including former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips and victims’ commissioner Claire Waxman, are demanding exemptions for child rapists and grooming gang members. Lammy dismissed their objections, stating that critics in parliament offered “absolutely no solutions as to how we deal with the immediate situation.”
This political friction is set against a backdrop of an imminent change in leadership. Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, is widely expected to become prime minister on 20 July. Several of his supporters within the Labour party are pushing to scrap the early release scheme once he takes office. Lammy noted he has been in constant discussion with Burnham and his chief of staff, James Purnell, regarding the plans.
Looking to European models
Addressing the systemic roots of the crisis, former Conservative home secretary Amber Rudd has been appointed to lead a cross-party review into drugs, violence and organised crime in prisons. She criticised the historical lack of strategic planning and emphasised the need for a long-term roadmap to keep the public safe while managing public funds.
To build that plan, Rudd said she is looking to continental models for inspiration. “I want to look at Scandinavia and I want to look at Spain, where they’ve done a lot with new prisons,” she said. She noted that a separate sentencing review was also impressed by reforms in Texas that ultimately allowed for the closure of prison facilities.
Building new capacity in the UK currently takes up to seven years. Until that infrastructure is realised, the government is forced to rely on early releases and expanded community punishment to keep the justice system functioning.
