Emergency plans to release prisoners early to ease overcrowding to be revealed

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is set to announce its emergency plans to free up prison spaces in order to tackle the issue of overcrowding.

The newly-appointed justice secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce the reforms on Friday but it has been revealed that her plan will include releasing most prisoners at the 40 per cent mark of their sentence.

Speaking to media at Nato Summit in Washington, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the “situation is worse than I thought it was. I’m pretty shocked that it’s been allowed to get into that situation. It’s reckless to allow them to get into that place.”

This comes after he commented last Saturday at his first press conference as prime minister that “we’ve got too many prisoners, not enough prisons“.

Earlier this year, under the previous government, former justice secretary Alex Chalk oversaw ‘Operation Early Dawn’.

This involved an assessment being made each morning by prison staff on which prisoners can be transferred from police cells and taken to courts to ensure there is a safe and secure location if they are remanded in custody.

Commenting on the government’s purposed plan, the Prison Governors’ Association (PGA) “welcomes
the speed with which this new administration is moving to deal with the prison capacity crisis.”

“The PGA wrote to all UK party political leaders, including the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, prior
to the recent General Election, and told him that he could not afford to procrastinate. He has heeded
our advice.”

“The changes to release dates will create essential space across the prison system; it goes without
saying that these changes will not reduce future demand on our system.”

The PGA stated that over coming months they hope to see a “significant reduction in the prison population” which will bring “some much-needed stability across the system”.

The spokesperson added that “prisons need time to heal”.

According to figures from the Nation Audit Office (NAO), at the end of January 2024, the prison population was 87,538 people, with “many adult male prisoners..held in cells designed for fewer occupants.”

The NAO predicted that if the prison capacity crisis continues, it will rise to between 94,600 and 114,800 people by March 2028.

The criminal justice – and not just the prisons – has been at breaking point due to budget cuts. City A.M. outlines all the problems the system faces.