Second wave of 650 prisoners freed under early release scheme

Summarised from BBC News's report · Updated 13 Oct, 02:56 · Archive

About 650 offenders are being released early from jails in England and Wales, serving one-third of their sentences instead of half.

About 650 offenders are being released early from jails in England and Wales on Tuesday as part of the government's plan to tackle overcrowding in the prison system. Those being released are serving sentences of up to two and a half years and will leave after serving a third of their sentence behind bars rather than half. A first wave of 700 offenders was freed on 1 October.

The releases are expected to continue in phases, culminating next June with offenders serving more than 12 years. Those freed are typically electronically tagged and subject to other monitoring conditions for the remainder of the second third of their sentence. Napo, the probation service union, has said the releases have put enormous strain on its members, who monitor offenders in the community. The union is balloting members on a potential strike over pay and workload, after the Ministry of Justice offered a 5 per cent pay rise in response to demands for 12 per cent.

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• Hundreds more prisoners to be freed in second phase of early release schemeSecond tranche of prisoners will include those serving up to two and a half years for crimes.BBC News · 13 Oct, 02:13

In this story: England and Wales · Ministry of Justice · Napo · HMP Brixton

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