More than one-fifth of prisoners released early under a scheme to ease jail overcrowding have reoffended within a month, Sir Stephen Watson, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, has revealed.
Watson stated that 22 percent of offenders released early in Greater Manchester in the past month had already reoffended. "This is, of course, a real problem for us," he told LBC. He added, "While we're busy building extra prison space, we need to work with our partners to mitigate the risk to the public."
This revelation comes as another 650 inmates were freed in the latest wave of the scheme, which allows prisoners to be released after serving one-third of their sentence instead of one-half. Since October 1, at least 1,350 prisoners have been released under this initiative. Inmates serving longer sentences will become eligible as the program progresses, with those given sentences of 12 years or more included in the final phase in June.
Sir Mark Rowley, head of the Metropolitan Police, previously reported that his officers were arresting two to three offenders per week who had been released under the scheme. He also noted that over 100 electronic tag breaches are reported daily in London, with 95 percent of these resulting in offenders being re-bailed rather than returned to prison.
Concerns have also been raised by probation staff. Ben Cockburn of the probation staff union Napo described the scheme's rollout as "chaotic and poorly planned," warning of a "devastating" impact on probation services and an "existential" risk to the service due to poorly managed workloads and extensive guidance documents.
Victims of domestic abuse have expressed fear about their abusers returning to the streets. Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, chair of the board at domestic abuse charity Refuge, stated that tagging alone is insufficient and that the scheme is failing to provide adequate protection for survivors. Some survivors have resorted to moving to different areas or even overseas due to fear.
A government spokesperson asserted that protecting the public is a top priority and that measures are being implemented to address the prison crisis. They stated that failure to act would have forced police to halt arrests, putting communities at risk. The spokesperson highlighted investments in neighborhood police, probation funding, and robust controls, including electronic tagging and restriction zones. "Any reoffending is unacceptable, and offenders who break the rules face swift action, including recall where necessary," the spokesperson added.