Key facts
- Approximately 1,000 fewer prisoners will be released early in England and Wales.
- Prisoners convicted of rape, serious child sexual offenses, and grooming are now excluded from the early release scheme.
- The revised scheme will release about 5,000 prisoners over 10 months, down from the initial plan of 6,000.
- Justice Secretary Alex Norris stated that further exclusions could lead to the prison system's collapse.
- Victims' families, including those of murdered PC Andrew Harper, expressed distress that some offenders remain eligible for release.
The UK government has revised its early prison release scheme, excluding individuals convicted of rape, serious child sexual offenses, and grooming, in response to public pressure and concerns from victims' families. Justice Secretary Alex Norris announced that approximately 5,000 prisoners will be released over 10 months, a reduction from the initial plan of 6,000. This intervention aims to alleviate prison overcrowding while addressing the perceived harm caused by releasing offenders convicted of severe crimes.
Norris stated that while he wished to exclude more prisoners, doing so could destabilize the prison system. He emphasized that sentencing changes would provide long-term capacity solutions, moving away from what he described as a "doom loop" of emergency releases. However, he acknowledged the distress caused to grieving families, including that of murdered PC Andrew Harper, and expressed regret for the situation.
Debbie Adlam, mother of PC Andrew Harper, and Lissie Harper, his wife, voiced their anger and disappointment that the killers of PC Harper, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, remain eligible for early release under the revised plans. They questioned the speed of the decision and called for better answers and communication from the Prison Service.
Burnham defended the changes, attributing the need for such schemes to previous governments' failure to adequately increase prison capacity. He stated that he could not implement further exclusions without risking the collapse of the prison system, which would pose significant risks to public safety. The Prime Minister assured the public of tighter community supervision for released offenders, including GPS monitoring for rapists, and announced new funding for victim support services.
In contrast, the Conservative party criticized the government's move as insufficient, with leader Kemi Badenoch stating that killers and violent offenders would still be released. The opposition party pledged to build more prison places, rent cells abroad, and deport foreign offenders to address overcrowding.