The Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom is reportedly considering changes to its Home Detention Curfew (HDC) scheme, which could allow some prisoners to be released early to serve the remainder of their sentences under house arrest. Officials are exploring proposals that would permit inmates to be eligible for HDC after serving just one-sixth of their sentence, down from the current eligibility at one-fifth.
HDC allows prisoners to live at home while being electronically monitored with an ankle tag, requiring them to remain indoors between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. The potential adjustments are part of a broader effort to address prison overcrowding.
The 'progression' sentencing model, slated to take effect in October, could facilitate this shift. While current eligibility for HDC is at the 20% mark of a sentence, this does not guarantee release. The government is now examining the possibility of earlier release as a measure to prevent jails from reaching capacity.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris is leading a review of the early release scheme, which began in September 2024. Under this initiative, certain prisoners can be released after serving 40% of their fixed-term sentence, a reduction from the previous 50%. The Sentencing Act, passed earlier this year, allows for this threshold to be lowered further, potentially to one-third of a fixed-term sentence.
However, the proposed changes have drawn criticism. Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy called the potential HDC revision an "outrage," advocating for increased prison capacity and construction rather than what he described as short-term fixes. "Labour should focus on using existing space, expanding capacity and building more prisons, not rushing out more half-baked plans as a short-term fix," Timothy stated.
Other measures being considered by the government include accelerating the deportation of foreign criminals and reviewing indefinite imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences. These considerations come in the wake of reports that Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, convicted of killing PC Andrew Harper in 2019, may be excluded from early release schemes due to a proposed law change. This change would exempt individuals convicted of 'unlawful act' manslaughter, where a death occurs during an illegal act, from early release eligibility.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously expressed a commitment to preventing the early release of Bowers and Cole. The Ministry of Justice emphasized that public safety remains paramount and that plans are being fast-tracked to keep serious offenders incarcerated. Offenders serving life sentences, or those convicted of murder, rape, serious child sexual abuse, and grooming offenses, are already excluded from early release adjustments. The ministry also noted that it inherited a prison system "on the brink of collapse" and is working to rectify this by building new prison places, expanding electronic tagging, and investing in probation services.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson stated, "We are fixing this by building 14,000 new prison places, expanding electronic tagging on an unprecedented scale, and investing in probation services at record levels. We are also exploring how we can go further, including faster deportation of foreign criminals and reviewing the unjust IPP sentences."