In the United Kingdom, thousands of citizens who were released early as part of the government’s fight against prison overcrowding are back in custody, The Times writes.
The newspaper notes that the number of former prisoners who have returned to prison for parole violations or recidivism has increased considerably.
In total there are around 86 thousand prisoners in cells in England and Wales. At the same time, one in seven people was released and returned to prison, the newspaper reports.
According to The Times, more than 16,000 people have been released since October 2023 to avoid overcrowding in prisons. Between April and June, the number of citizens recently sentenced to prison increased by 44%: of every 100 people released early, 73 were returned to prison.
In July, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer He stated that the country has “too many prisoners and few prisons.” The country’s Ministry of Justice predicted that by the end of 2025 the number of detained citizens will reach 99.3 thousand people, while approximately 9 thousand places will be missing in prisons.
The then British Minister of Justice Shabana Mahmoud announced the government’s decision to reduce the mandatory period of serving the sentence to 40%. After serving this part of their sentence, prisoners can be released early. Previously, as a rule, most British prisoners were released after half their sentence (50%). The early release plan does not apply to some prisoners, including those convicted of sexual and domestic violence or terrorism, RBC clarifies.
In mid-September, 1.7 thousand prisoners were released early and in October another 1.1 thousand.
