Thousands of prisoners are to leave jail early as part of a government initiative to reverse prison overcrowding, it was reported last night.
Inmates serving sentences for violence, robbery, burglary and public order crimes could be freed, but critics have said the plans smack of ‘panic measures’.
Governors have been asked to review cases of prisoners refused release under the home detention curfew (HDC) scheme, which allows them to return home with an electronic tag and curfew, according to a paper released by the Ministry of Justice last month, according to the Times.
The MoJ acted after discovering that tens of thousands of eligible offenders were missing out, the Times says.
Inmates serving sentences for violence, robbery, burglary and public order crimes could be freed, but critics have said the plans smack of ‘panic measures’
In 2016, 21 per cent of eligible inmates were released under the scheme.
In total 9,041 were freed but more than 35,000 missed out.
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the order looked ‘like a panic measure because prisons are in such dire straits’.
‘Ministers give prison governors the political cover if things go wrong with a prisoner, as they will because humans are complex and make mistakes,’ she told the Times.
The MoJ acted after discovering that tens of thousands of eligible offenders were missing out
Philip Hollobone, Tory MP for Kettering, told the newspaper: ‘The public does not like prisoners being released early from their sentence.
‘The public wants criminals to serve the sentence in full in jail. The further we get away from that, the less sentences are a fitting punishment for the crime that has been committed.’
The MoJ said: ‘We are not expanding the scheme to allow the release of any prisoner who was not already eligible and could be released on HDC. We are simplifying the HDC process, reducing the number of forms used in the assessment process and maintaining the strict eligibility and suitability tests.
‘This will mean governors can make well-informed, more timely decisions and ensure robust risk management plans are in place for offenders released under the scheme.’