Why are thousands of prisoners to be released early from UK jails?

The temporary move is expected to result in 5,500 offenders being released in September and October

By Jack Abbey, ITV News Political Producer

New emergency measures to relieve overcrowding in English and Welsh prisons will come into effect from Tuesday which sees thousands of prisoners released earlier than expected.

In recent months, the prison population has repeatedly reached record highs, with the most recent figures showing the number of those in UK prisons had hit 88,521 people on Friday.

The figures came days after ITV News reported that only 100 spaces were left in male prisons in the UK, following the August bank holiday weekend.

The government is deeply concerned about what could happen if prison spaces run out.

Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood, when she announced the measures, warned that police could even have to stop carrying out arrests in worst-case scenarios, possibly leading to looting and the collapse of law and order.

But how will the measures work, and how much risk do they pose?

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What is the plan?

To free up space in prisons, the government announced in July that some prisoners would be released after serving only 40% of their sentence rather than 50% - as required under previous guidelines.

The first set of prisoners to be released on Tuesday are those who were given sentences of five years or less.

There are exceptions, however. Those serving sentences for sex and violent offences are excluded, as are some offences related to domestic violence.

A total of 5,500 prisoners are expected to be let out, along with a second release from October of those serving five years or more.

Are there risks?

Yes. The justice secretary admitted as much when announcing the measures, and since then, experts including the chief inspector of probation have warned that the plans amount to "rolling the dice".

Concerns centre around whether those released will go onto re-offend, but also the strain releasing thousands of people early could put on services, including those for the homeless.

The government insists that they have no other option and "do not take this decision lightly".

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Why have prisons become full?

Experts say a combination of longer sentences for crimes, the creation of new offences, record numbers of released prisoners being recalled, and Covid court backlogs have all contributed.

Even with new prisons being built, projections show that prison populations will grow faster.

This new scheme replaces a previous plan implemented by the last Conservative government in 2023 to release some prisoners ten weeks early.

But with warnings of prisons becoming full within days, the new administration felt they had to take further action.

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