Second wave of early prisoner releases frees 650 in England and Wales
Around 650 prisoners have been freed in the second wave of the government's early release scheme, as probation staff prepare to ballot on strike action over workloads.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Second wave of early releases begins
Around 650 prisoners were released from jails in England and Wales today in the second wave of the government's early release scheme. The scheme is meant to ease overcrowding. Those freed in this wave include offenders serving up to two and a half years. They are being released after serving a third of their sentence instead of half. The first wave saw about 700 offenders leave prison on 1 October. The total released so far is more than 1,300. At least another 1,100 are expected to be freed before Christmas, taking the total to around 2,500 by the end of the year. Around 4,500 extra offenders will be in the community by next summer. The scheme is expected to run in 10 phases into next year.
Government defence and criticism
Ministers say the early release is needed to prevent the justice system from collapsing and to reduce prison overcrowding. They say serious offences such as murder, manslaughter, sexual offences, terrorist acts and fatal driving crimes are excluded. Critics, including the Conservatives, say the scheme is not working and reoffending is off the charts. The probation service is under strain. NAPO, the probation union, will ballot members next week on industrial action over pay and workload. Probation officers supervise released prisoners, including tagging and curfews. The union says each new client can create eight to 11 pieces of work for a practitioner. Morale is low after years of cuts. NAPO national chair Ben Cockburn said previous early release schemes led to an exponential rise in prison recalls and warned of a revolving door. He said the probation service is already over capacity and that building more prisons is not the only answer.
Early cases and warnings
Some early cases have raised concerns. Michael Bogle, a serial shoplifter, was released in the first wave and arrested for shoplifting within hours. He is back inside serving another eight months. Greater Manchester Police says eight men freed at the start of October have been re-arrested. Other forces have highlighted breaches. The victim's commissioner for England and Wales has called for delays in tagging offenders to be addressed. In the Commons, the Conservatives pressed the government on how many released prisoners have been tagged, how many have not, and how many tag breaches there have been. Ministers said data on releases will be published in January, as normal.
Prison capacity and court reform
Prisons remain close to capacity. There are just under 2,000 spare places for about 87,000 prisoners. Police leaders have warned about wider criminal justice pressures. Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, said the lack of cells and the wider crisis is the most difficult and worrying time in his career. He said 36 people charged with firearms offences are on bail in the community rather than being remanded in custody. The Justice Secretary, Alex Norris, has returned to Parliament with a revised plan to reform criminal courts. He dropped proposals to cut many jury trials and wants volunteer magistrates to handle more cases to help clear backlogs. Government projections say those plans, plus a promised 14,000 new cells, must come together before 2030 or the system could face another population crisis.
Releases on the ground
At HMP Brixton, reporters saw a trickle of releases. One man said accommodation had come through and this would help him avoid reoffending. At HMP Fosse Way in Leicestershire, about 50 inmates were freed. One man, Dale, jailed for 12 months reduced to 10 for armed robbery, said he was going to a probation hostel for six months and then to live with his partner. He said he would not go back inside. At a prison in Bridgend, one man jailed for a violent assault on a woman said his sentence had been cut short by 13 days. He complained about licence conditions, saying he faced double tagging and alcohol tagging. The government says it is determined to do the right thing by victims and that the scheme applies only in England and Wales.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 3 or more of 4 channels | ||||
| A further 650 prisoners with sentences of up to two years and five months are being released. | ||||
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | ||||
| About 2,500 people were expected to leave prison by the end of December under the scheme. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 |
| The early release policy drew criticism because some freed prisoners had served only a third of their sentence. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | ||
| The probation union is due to vote next week on industrial action over pay and workload. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | ||
| Only on one channel | ||||
| A serial shoplifter from London stole again within hours of early release and was returned to prison to serve another eight months. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| Figures on tagging and reoffending by early-released prisoners will not be published until January. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| Government projections indicated that the reform plans and a promised 14,000 new cells needed to be delivered before 2030 to prevent another prison population crisis. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| Greater Manchester Police said eight men freed in the first wave had already been re-arrested. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 |
| The Justice Secretary has dropped proposals to cut many jury trials and wants volunteer magistrates to handle more cases. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
| There are just under 2,000 spare prison places for about 87,000 prisoners. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Focused on the second wave as part of a 10-phase scheme, probation pressure, and wider justice crisis. It included numbers on future releases, the case of serial shoplifter Michael Bogle, and police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley on firearms suspects on bail. It also covered the Justice Secretary's revised courts plan.
- “A fortnight ago the first 700 offenders left jails under the government's new early release scheme to end the prison population crisis.”
- “Today a second tranche, 650 more offenders who've been jailed for up to two years and five months.”
- “The rapists, the child killers and the murderers, they should stay in but people like me shouldn't really stay in for a long time.”
Covered the second wave in both a short summary and a longer report. It highlighted probation officers voting on strikes, Conservative claims that reoffending is off the charts, Commons pressure over tagging data, and an interview with NAPO's national chair. It used case studies from Brixton and a prison in Bridgend and reported Michael Bogle's quick return to jail.
- “Hundreds more prisoners are being freed today in the second phase of the government's early release scheme.”
- “Around 650 prisoners have walked free in England and Wales in a second wave of early releases to ease overcrowding.”
- “The probation service says its members are overwhelmed and will be balloted on strike action next week, while the Conservatives say reoffending is off the charts.”
Gave short lunchtime and evening updates, with the evening report using a case study of prisoner Dale at HMP Fosse Way. It stressed totals and the exclusion of serious offences, and noted Greater Manchester Police re-arrests. The lunchtime bulletin was brief and moved quickly to IMF food and energy prices.
- “It's the second wave of the government's early release scheme.”
- “It's nearly 10 past 5, and another 650 prisoners walk free across England and Wales today.”
- “Since they brought this early release scheme in, the lads have kind of got a bit more optimistic about themselves.”
Live lunchtime report from outside HMP Brixton. It focused on prison capacity figures, the release process, and the lack of tagging and reoffending data until January. It also noted accommodation concerns and the probation union's possible pay strike.
- “Around 650 more offenders are leaving jails in England and Wales today under the government's early release scheme designed to tackle prison overcrowding.”
- “There are just under 2,000 spare places in prisons at the moment which might sound a lot but there are 87,000 prisoners”
- “The government is under pressure to say how many prisoners have been tagged and how many prisoners have offended having been released early while wearing those electronic tags.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.