Thousands of prisoners are to be released early—with some serving only 40 percent of their sentences—as the new justice secretary warned there could be a “total breakdown of law and order.”
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Friday prisons in England and Wales were “on the point of collapse” with around 700 places left in adult male prisons and some jails operating at 99 percent capacity since the start of 2023.
She said if prisons became full there was the prospect of “van-loads of dangerous people circling the country with nowhere to go,” police officers being unable to arrest criminals, and “looters running amok.”
Speaking at HMP Five Wells in Northamptonshire, she laid out plans for some prisoners to be released after serving only 40 percent of their sentences.
Currently many convicted criminals serve only 50 percent of the prison term which they are sentenced to, but that remission will be increased from September.
Murderers and Other Lifers Will Not Be Released Early
She also said convicted murderers and others serving life sentences would be exempted from the scheme.
Figures released by the Ministry of Justice on Friday showed the adult male prison population was 83,755 out of a “usable operational capacity” of 84,463, meaning only 708 spaces were available.
When the number of spaces reaches 300, prisons must start using police cells.
Ms. Mahmood, who also visited HMP Bedford on Friday, said, “In short, if we fail to act now, we face the collapse of the criminal justice system and a total breakdown of law and order.”
She said the early releases were the “only one way to avert disaster,” and said it would give the new government “the time we need to address the prisons crisis.”
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley told ITV’s “Good Morning Britain”: “The government have got a situation where there’s no easy solution.
“Prisons are very, very close to full and filling up day in day out. The worst possible thing would be for the system to block, because the system blocks in prisons if they get completely full. That kicks back into the courts and into what we do. And that’s really dangerous for the public,” he added.
Sir Mark Rowley: ‘Least Worst Option’
Sir Mark said: “So the government are forced into making a rapid decision to avoid that risk. So it’s going to be the least worst option they’re going to have to find, so I understand what they’re trying to do, however not ideal it is.”The chairman of the Prison Officers Association, Mark Fairhurst, also supported the early releases.
Mr. Fairhurst said, “What is more dangerous to the public is if we don’t act, so if we’re clogging up police cells they’re unable to arrest people because there’s nowhere for them to go.”
Labour has pledged to deliver 20,000 jail places and classify prisons as being of “national importance” on public safety grounds to take control of the planning process.
Legislation is expected to be unveiled in the King’s Speech next week, which would amend the planning system to enable permission for new prisons to be granted quicker.
