Record crimes by freed prisoners as 79,000 released early

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 29 Oct, 13:46 · Archive

Official figures show 46,459 new crimes were committed by prisoners released early from October to December 2024.

Official figures show a record number of crimes have been committed by prisoners released early under Labour's early release scheme. In the three months from October to December 2024, 46,459 new crimes were committed by freed inmates, up from 34,866 in the same quarter the previous year. This equated to an average of 7.55 new offences per freed inmate.

The figures came after Labour launched the SDS40 scheme in September 2024, which allowed many inmates to be freed after serving 40 per cent of their sentence. Between September 2024 and June 2026, a total of 79,274 prisoners were discharged early under the emergency policy introduced to address prison overcrowding.

More broadly, offenders freed or handed community sentences in the three-month period committed over 138,400 fresh crimes, an average of 5.29 new offences per criminal and the highest number on record. The overall reoffending rate was 30.1 per cent, up 1.8 percentage points on the same period the previous year. The Independent reports that 52,716 people were recommitted to jail in the year to June after breaching licence terms, a 27 per cent rise from 41,518 the previous year.

The SDS40 scheme has since been replaced by a permanent scheme allowing convicts to be freed after serving just 33 per cent of their sentence, with some serious violent offenders now eligible for the first time.

How it is being reported

• Record prison recalls surge in England and Wales after criminals freed early to cut jail overcrowdingFigures released by the MoJ on Thursday further show that 79,274 prisoners were discharged early between September 2024 and June 2026The Independent · 29 Oct, 13:17
• Labour's soft justice bonanza sees number of new crimes committed by freed lags hit record high as it emerges more than 79,000 prisoners have now been let out of jail earlyOfficial figures showed 46,459 new crimes were committed by prisoners let out of jail in the three months from October to December 2024.Daily Mail · 29 Oct, 11:02

In this story: Labour · Ministry of Justice · England and Wales

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