Prison governors in England have told the BBC that people released early under the government’s 2024 overcrowding measures are returning to jail at a rapid rate, with many being recalled after breaching licence conditions or reoffending. The governors said they are seeing the same inmates repeatedly sent back after release, describing the cycle as destabilising for staff and disruptive for prisons already under strain. One governor in the Midlands said the “churn” was stressful, calling it a “revolving door”. The comments come as Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced changes to the next early release scheme, due to begin in October, after anger that killers of PC Andrew Harper were among those who could qualify. Recall Numbers Rise as Overcrowding PersistsBurnham said on Sunday that people convicted of unlawful killing would be excluded from the next scheme. He acknowledged that the move would mean “hundreds” more people remain in prison. The announcement follows warnings that prisons in England and Wales are operating at more than 97% capacity, leaving little room for the 2024 releases to relieve pressure. Prison governors told the BBC that any extra spaces created are unlikely to be available before the next batch of releases starts. As of March, more than 70,000 people had been freed under the 2024 early release scheme. However, there were still almost 87,000 people in custody, with just over 2,000 spaces remaining. A key part of the system is licence recall, which allows people to be returned to prison if they breach conditions or if new risk concerns arise. There were 51,419 licence recalls in the year ending March 2026, up from 40,259 in the previous year, an increase of 28%. While recalls were slightly lower from January to March than in the previous three-month period, they remained far above historical levels. “Short-Term Solutions” and Reoffending RisksThree serving prison governors said the current approach does not solve the underlying capacity crisis. One governor in the north of England said the prime minister’s plan was “all short-term solutions and we need space now”, adding that creating new cells inside existing prisons would require more staff and was not straightforward. Staff shortages, they said, were contributing to unsafe and unsuitable conditions, with some prisoners living in environments that did not meet expectations for safety and decency. The governors also linked the overcrowding pressures to a higher risk of repeated recalls. One said: “We see the same people coming back after being released early and reoffending again, or breaking their [release] rules.” Another governor warned that unless both overcrowding and recalls were addressed, the criminal justice system could “grind to a halt”, describing repeated releases and returns to custody as a loop that removes any temporary capacity gained. Gang Tensions, Double Cell Use, and New RulesGovernors described wider impacts of overcrowding, including rising tensions between gangs and the mixing of people from different regions in the same establishments, increasing the risk of rivalries. They said prisons are also using cells designed for one person to hold two inmates, citing health and safety concerns. One governor said single cells are compact and include space used for eating and an open toilet area, so two prisoners are effectively carrying out daily routines together. The governor added that prisons already face infestation problems and that the change could worsen them. The BBC understands that work has started to create additional cells by repurposing existing areas, but that this is expected to take months. Burnham’s early release changes follow mounting pressure to exclude the killers of PC Harper, who died in 2019 after being dragged by a car as three teenagers fled a quad bike theft in Berkshire. Concerns had been raised that Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole could be eligible, after which more than one million people signed a petition calling for them to stay in prison. The new scheme will bar people convicted of unlawful killing, alongside serious child sex offenders, rapists and groomers, under the Sentencing Act. It will also exclude prisoners convicted of indecent assault offences and death by dangerous driving. The justice secretary is expected to give more detail to Parliament on Tuesday, including how many people will be affected. Maintenance Warnings and Government ResponseThe Prison Governors Association president Tom Wheatley told the BBC that governors had not been briefed on the government’s overcrowding plans until late, saying it left them having to respond to angry and confused prisoners on short notice. A 2024 National Audit Office report concluded that there is continued risk to prison capacity due to poor condition in parts of the estate, including that a quarter of prison places—23,000—do not meet fire safety standards. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Less than one in seven prisoners in custody are on recall, and it is a vital tool to keep the public safe.” They added that the government is building 14,000 new places, expanding tagging, reforming recall to reduce the prison population, and giving victims a say in licence conditions. Join the discussion? 31 August 2026
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