Key facts
- Around 650 offenders started leaving jails in England and Wales on Tuesday in the third phase of the early release plan.
- At least 1,350 offenders have been released early since October 1 under the first two waves of the scheme.
- Officials project at least 2,500 will have been released by the end of the year to serve two-thirds of their sentence on licence.
- Weekly statistics published on Monday showed 86,982 people in jail, with space for 2,076 additional offenders.
- The government has not published figures for the rate of recall of prisoners for breaching licence conditions.
- Napo, the probation service union, has balloted members on potential strike action, with the result expected on Friday.
Around 650 more offenders began leaving jails in England and Wales on Tuesday in the third phase of the government's plan to reduce the prison population, the BBC reported. The group includes people serving up to three years and two months, who are leaving after serving no more than a third of their sentence rather than a half.
At least 1,350 offenders have been released early since October 1 under the first two waves of the scheme. Officials project that at least 2,500 will have been let out by the end of the year to spend two-thirds of their sentence on licence in the community.
The cohort includes people convicted of affray, burglary and fraud. Some violent offenders convicted of wounding, grievous bodily harm with intent or lower-end firearms charges could also be released. Offenders convicted of more than 70 offences, including manslaughter, rape, sexual and grooming offences and those on life terms, are exempt.
Weekly prison statistics published on Monday showed 86,982 people in jail, with enough spare spaces to take in 2,076 additional offenders. That is 500 more cells available at any one time than on the eve of the programme beginning in October.
Typically, those released should expect to be electronically tagged and subject to other monitoring conditions for the second third of their sentence. Probation officers monitor them and try to ensure they attend courses and keep to licence conditions, which can include bans on entering certain areas and contacting victims.
The government has not yet published figures for the rate of recall of prisoners for breaching licence conditions. The most up to date statistics show 12,338 offenders were sent back to jail between April and June, 12% higher than the year before but a decrease on the first three months of the year. Rehabilitation experts say recalls are often linked to an offender failing to keep appointments or living at a specific address, and around a fifth are for a new offence.
Napo, the probation service union, has previously said the releases have put strain on its members. Its members have been balloted on potential strike action over pay and conditions, with the result expected on Friday. The Ministry of Justice has offered probation officers a 5% pay rise, while the union had demanded 12%. The ministry says the offer is fair, has been accepted by two other unions and is twinned with a £700m investment in probation to recruit 1,300 extra officers and roll out AI tools to cut the workload of monitoring offenders.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has previously criticised the scheme, saying she was "worried about dangerous people being let out on the street when they haven't served their sentence, haven't been rehabilitated". An early release programme introduced by the Conservatives saw more than 10,000 prisoners freed early between October 2023 and September 2024.