Starmer Considers Early Release for Prisoners Amid UK Prison Crisis

Overcrowding Crisis?

UK prison governors have warned that the prison system in England and Wales will be effectively full within the next week.

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Proposed Plan?

To address the issue of overcrowding, the UK’s Labour-led government is considering plans to release offenders after they have served 40% of their sentence. This proposal is one of several options being evaluated by the Ministry of Justice, as reported by The Guardian. Prison overcrowding has become the most urgent problem for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's administration, which recently won a landslide victory in the 2024 UK General Elections.

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Government Response?

“No one wants to do it, but their hands have been forced by the inaction of the last lot. It’s very much an option though and not a done deal yet," a source close to the new government told the British news outlet. The proposal in question would release prisoners on “determinate” sentences between 40% and 43% of the way through their sentence. Offenders jailed for sex crimes, violence, or terrorism would be excluded from the scheme. The new government plans to introduce this plan by replacing the current 10-week early release scheme.

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Official Statements?

“We haven’t made any decisions yet, we’re just kicking the tyres on all the options. But the crisis is acute and there are no easy decisions ahead of us," another government insider claimed.

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Current Situation?

As of May 2024, the prison population stood at 87,505, while the official usable capacity is 88,895. The former PM Rishi Sunak’s government had triggered a crisis measure by using police cells to house inmates and introduced a measure of releasing some prisoners 70 days before their sentences were due to end.

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Prime Minister's Remarks?

In his first press conference as Prime Minister, Starmer highlighted the impossibility of stopping the current policy of releasing prisoners early due to the lack of prison capacity. “We’ve got too many prisoners, not enough prisons,” Starmer said.

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New Appointments?

In response to the crisis, Starmer has appointed James Timpson, a businessman and rehabilitation campaigner, as the new prisons minister. Notably, more than 10% of Timpson’s workforce comprises former prisoners, and he has previously argued that only a third of people in prison should really be there. However, Starmer has not stated whether he agrees with this assessment or not.

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