The recent decision to release thousands of prisoners early has sparked widespread concern and debate. The move, described by the chief inspector of prisons as potentially bringing "mayhem" to communities, is seen as a necessary but risky measure. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood defended the decision, emphasizing that the alternative—leaving judges unable to sentence offenders due to a lack of space—would be "unthinkable." Today's release offers hundreds of prisoners a chance to either reform their lives or fall back into old habits.

 

 

The urgent need to address the overcrowded conditions in England and Wales's prisons has led to this controversial decision. Tuesday's cohort includes those serving sentences of less than five years, with another wave of releases scheduled for 22 October, targeting those with sentences of five years or more. However, the government has assured the public that this policy will not apply to the most serious offenders, such as killers, rapists, and terrorists.

 

 

Despite its unpopularity, the early release scheme is seen as necessary to alleviate the overcrowded prison system. Prisons in England and Wales are operating at near-full capacity, with official figures from 6 September 2024 showing a total prison population of 88,521, just shy of the system's useable operational capacity of 89,619. Most prisons are already overburdened, with some, like Durham, operating at a staggering 172% of their certified normal accommodation (CNA), the standard for safe and decent housing.

 

This overcrowding has contributed to a deteriorating situation within prisons, marked by rising violence, drug use, and self-harm, as highlighted in the annual report by the chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor. Taylor described a "devastating picture" of a system failing to rehabilitate prisoners, leading to what he termed a "revolving door" of incarceration. Many prisoners leave prison with untreated mental health issues and drug problems, often with nowhere to go, only to re-offend and end up back behind bars. Taylor warned, "That, of course, just creates more victims of crime, more mayhem in communities, and a prison population that is now almost unmanageable."

 

One prisoner released early admitted there was a "99% chance" he would be recalled due to bail conditions, while another faced homelessness upon release. The early release of 5,500 prisoners may offer some relief, but the prison system remains stretched, under-resourced, and plagued by high re-offending rates. With current statistics suggesting that around 1,375 of those released will re-offend, the long-term effectiveness of this measure is in question.

 

The Institute for Government points to longer sentences, a growing backlog in the courts, and an increase in the number of people on remand and recalled to prison as factors driving the rise in the prison population. Since 2019, the number of people on remand has increased by 84%, now accounting for nearly 20% of the total prison population. Similarly, the number of people released on parole and then recalled has risen by 72% over the same period.

 

In an interview with Ms. Mahmood, it was clear that she does not support shorter sentences for offenders. To address these complex and long-standing issues, the government must invest in speeding up the courts, improving the prison and probation services, and building more prisons. However, the question remains: where will the money come from, and how long will it take to see real change? Even with investment, solving these problems will require time, leaving the effectiveness of the early release strategy in doubt.

 

 

Credit: Sky News 2024-09-12

 

 

 

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I do not expect that this is unpopular with the released prisoners.

i am confused. Why is it such a big deal? Wasn't Australia initially populated mostly by convicts? That is what the history book told us in school anyway. 

 

Seriously though, why are they not looking at making prison camps like they do in Nevada. Tent cities in the desert filled with prisoners who are not dangerous and have less time. Rather than dumping them into the streets without money or jobs. How do they think these prisoners will be able to live without commiting more crime. 

So they have released these prisoners to make room for people who have posted 'hate speech' on face book?? UNREAL!

5 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

So they have released these prisoners to make room for people who have posted 'hate speech' on face book?? UNREAL!

Hate speech which in one case (at least) involved a woman inciting low IQ, far right, knuckle scrapers to set fire to a building housing terrified human beings. A totally justified sentence.

Gotta make room for people being mean on FaceBook somehow.

 

Get ready for lots of reoffending. I wonder how the victims of their crimes feel? Probably very cold if they happen to be OAP's without their heating allowance. 

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/30348875/early-release-scheme-prisoners-back-on-streets/

 

They are coming to Thailand to take over your bargirls!!!

26 minutes ago, Celsius said:

They are coming to Thailand to take over your bargirls!!!

 

They'd blend right in if they go to Pattaya. 

23 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

So they have released these prisoners to make room for people who have posted 'hate speech' on face book?? UNREAL!

Personally I think "SURREAL" would be a better descriptive.  along with  "very very worrying"  jailing people for "wrongspeak" is straight out of 1984 and where will it stop ?     They are already replacing the term "illegal immigrant" with  "irregular immigrant" how long before it becomes a crime to use the original term?    If this state of affairs continues I think we can expect a lot more early releases of increasingly dangerous prisoners to make way for those who have said , or even just thought the wrong things, 

A recent example being a woman who was standing silently near an abortion clinic accused of "praying" 

This is not just about immigration,  it is about a nasty authoritarian government who have become very unpopular very quickly, making an example of anybody who dares to disagree with them.  It is in effect an extension of the current "cancel culture"  

 

 

29 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Gotta make room for people being mean on FaceBook somehow.

 

Get ready for lots of reoffending. I wonder how the victims of their crimes feel? Probably very cold if they happen to be OAP's without their heating allowance. 

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/30348875/early-release-scheme-prisoners-back-on-streets/

 

 

Its like scenes from a Batman movie where Joker has released all the prisoners from the Asylum to cause mayhem on the streets.   

 

Anyone with even a fraction of a working brain would first look at the 10,000 foreign nationals residing in prison and simply deport as many of them as possible back to their home countries rather than this.   

1 minute ago, James105 said:

 

Its like scenes from a Batman movie where Joker has released all the prisoners from the Asylum to cause mayhem on the streets.   

 

Anyone with even a fraction of a working brain would first look at the 10,000 foreign nationals residing in prison and simply deport as many of them as possible back to their home countries rather than this.   

Any foreigner convicted of a crime and receiving a prison sentence should automatically be deported immediately,  

Even The Guardian are running stories highlighting what a stupid idea this is. Must be serious.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/sep/10/police-left-to-deal-with-fallout-of-poorly-planned-early-release-of-1700-prisoners

 

 

6 hours ago, Social Media said:

with official figures from 6 September 2024 showing a total prison population of 88,521, just shy of the system's useable operational capacity of 89,619

We have it all wrong, we should be sending over Thai Prison Governors to sort this out. 

They would create an extra 300,000 spots without building a single cell.

cram the bastards in and hand out free lube.

22 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Personally I think "SURREAL" would be a better descriptive.  along with  "very very worrying"  jailing people for "wrongspeak" is straight out of 1984 and where will it stop ?     They are already replacing the term "illegal immigrant" with  "irregular immigrant" how long before it becomes a crime to use the original term?    If this state of affairs continues I think we can expect a lot more early releases of increasingly dangerous prisoners to make way for those who have said , or even just thought the wrong things, 

A recent example being a woman who was standing silently near an abortion clinic accused of "praying" 

This is not just about immigration,  it is about a nasty authoritarian government who have become very unpopular very quickly, making an example of anybody who dares to disagree with them.  It is in effect an extension of the current "cancel culture"  

 

 

But you're forgetting Red Forever's comment "Hate speech which in one case (at least) involved a woman inciting low IQ, far right, knuckle scrapers to set fire to a building housing terrified human beings." ...  by his logic you must be a low IQ, far right, knuckle scraper with a tendency to set fire to buildings housing terrified human beings... bit like MacPhooey in that case ... one really cannot reason with Leftards or those suffering <removed> and the likes     

11 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

We have it all wrong, we should be sending over Thai Prison Governors to sort this out. 

They would create an extra 300,000 spots without building a single cell.

cram the bastards in and hand out free lube.

 

But taking away their PlayStations would surely be a breach of their human rights? 😃

 

Just deport any illegals in the prison system. Immediately. No appeal. Straight into the cargo hold of the nearest RAF plane and back to their country of origin. 

Another example of "broken Britain"   

                          A country so far down the road of decline that it cannot afford to,      Take care of its sick people , cannot afford a decent old age pension for the elderly,  cannot afford to run any sort of an efficient public transport system,  Cannot guarantee to keep the lights on during winter,  cannot maintain the highways to a decent standard, cannot afford enough prisons to house criminals,  and is up to its neck in debt.  (etc etc etc)

                          Yet for reasons that can only be contrary to any form of common sense,  Hands out money like confetti by way of foreign aid, even to countries like China, India and Nigeria.   Sends billions of pounds worth of military hardware to countries like Ukraine,   and currently agrees to accept illegal migrants whom it treats much better than its own citizens

                           And to think "Great" Britain once ran an empire that covered most of the world,   Where on earth did it all go wrong?    I don't think we need to look any further than the  incompetant self serving and corrupt politicians. The current left wing versus right wing  arguments that we hear daily is nothing more than a distraction  designed to keep the electorate arguing amongst themselves and to prevent them realising what a disaster is unfolding,   

                           God only knows how bad things are going to get in the future, Its sad to say it , but I am glad to be in the autumn of my life as opposed to the spring

                            Anybody feeling the same way and considering making a similar comment should do so sooner rather than later as it wont belong before such behaviour will land one in serious trouble

                            

Releasing violent criminals early is criminal in itself.

1 hour ago, Celsius said:

They are coming to Thailand to take over your bargirls!!!

But not yours of course,   as she is "different" 

3 minutes ago, mokwit said:

Releasing violent criminals early is criminal in itself.

 

Just wait until the stories of quick re-offending come out.

 

I knew Starmer was inherently nasty, but I never knew he was so politically inept. 

can any be worse then NYC police to let people steal many times a day as long as it is less then 900$ per time ?

Its not just this policy that is deeply unpopular, its the new  government.   I think there will be more and more protests over the next few years, and many may develop into civil unrest or even  riots.    They cannot incarcerate the entire population, the logical conclusion will be to get the army onto the streets and to start shooting people.  What else could they do?

7 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

But not yours of course,   as she is "different" 

 

Of course she is different. A career woman with a job that pays her own bills and has a bigger salary than your pension. 

3 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

Just wait until the stories of quick re-offending come out.

 

I knew Starmer was inherently nasty, but I never knew he was so politically inept. 

Indeed once the reoffending starts , as it certainly wiil,  coupled with a few thousand pensioners dying of hypothermia and a few more grooming gangs are exposed, things will start to get "uncomfortable" 

We just need to build a spacious Gulag in the north of England 🥳

28 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

 

But taking away their PlayStations would surely be a breach of their human rights? 😃

 

Just deport any illegals in the prison system. Immediately. No appeal. Straight into the cargo hold of the nearest RAF plane and back to their country of origin. 

I like that!  Come to America and vote for Trump.

 

Why is it when Yanks think this way we’re labeled xenophobic, racist etc etc.

5 minutes ago, Celsius said:

 

Of course she is different. A career woman with a job that pays her own bills and has a bigger salary than your pension. 

Of course she does, but just to put things into perspective, the woman who cleans the toilets in the local bus station would also fit into the same category, as I don't receive a pension, I am not old enough.

 

3 minutes ago, anyone said:

We just need to build a spacious Gulag in the north of England 🥳

If you ever visited the north of England you would realise that has been a work in progress for many many years.  however a recent change in government policy now  means that pretty much the entire country will now be able to enjoy the "benefits" of uncontrolled "irregular" immigration .   "operation scatter"  coming to your town very very soon.

As I mentioned in a previous comment , "great" Britain once ruled half the world, now it is only an attractive destination for those coming from other third world countries seeking to live a life on benefits.  Even the east european construction workers have left

10 minutes ago, G_Money said:

I like that!  Come to America and vote for Trump.

 

Why is it when Yanks think this way we’re labeled xenophobic, racist etc etc.

It was  no easier trying to be a patriotic Brit believe me,  I have given up now as I see nothing to be patriotic about, however I feel perfectly entiteld to express my disgust at how successive governments have presided over what can only be described as the managed decline of a once great nation which has given so much to the world.

And to think as a relatively rich country we could have become a tax haven for the rich , almost like MonteCarlo , just with slightly worse weather

I see one women is still remanded in custody for the heinous crime of buying eggs.

 

Best they throw the book at her!

 

#2tierkier

17 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Of course she does, but just to put things into perspective, the woman who cleans the toilets in the local bus station would also fit into the same category, as I don't receive a pension, I am not old enough.

 

 

Maybe your mongering perspective