The watchdog representing victims is “genuinely struggling to understand” government changes to prisoner recall release policy, expressing concern for “victim and wider public safety.”
In a letter to the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, shared exclusively with Sky News, Baroness Newlove has questioned why certain “sexual and violent” offenders have been “targeted for early release”.
The justice secretary on Wednesday announced that more criminals released from prison will only serve 28 more days in jail if they breach their licence conditions in an attempt to relieve pressure on overcrowded prisons.
On behalf of victims in England and Wales, Baroness Newlove raised a series of questions with the justice secretary, asking why criminals who may be deemed “an unacceptable risk to the public”, are being “re-released at a time when the probation service is already struggling to cope with the huge demands being placed upon it.”
In a hastily arranged news conference on Wednesday, the government announced the new measures for criminals who have been recalled to prison in England and Wales.
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The immediacy of the announcement prompted questions from MPs on Thursday as to whether those representing victims had been consulted about the changes.
It’s understood that the Victims Commissioner was not given advanced warning.
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This is the first time Baroness Newlove has intervened over the early release policy, citing risk to public safety.
The measures mean that offenders originally serving one to four years who are recalled to prison for breaching their licenses will be released after 28 days.
Previously, this short-term recall was only available to those who were originally serving a 12-month sentence.
Anyone serving longer than that had to convince the parole board they were safe to leave, if they had been recalled. That often caused delays.
The change is designed to stop prisons getting clogged up with those recalled for minor breaches, such as missing appointments or failing to alert the probation service to a change in their address or circumstance.
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There are around 13,500 offenders in prison ‘on recall’, which amounts to 15% of the total prison population in England and Wales.
Only 25% of those recalled have committed further offences. Other recalls are because of non-compliance or breaching of licence conditions – like missing or not turning up to probation appointments.
Thousands of offenders will benefit from the new limits. It will exclude terrorists, and individuals considered by the prison and probation service to be high risk, those who commit further offences.
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The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, also raised fears about the release of domestic abusers who have been recalled for breaching licence conditions.
“I cannot stress the lack of consideration for victims’ safety and how many lives are being put in danger because of this proposed change,” she said.
“You are not sent to prison for four years if you do not pose a significant risk to your victim or the wider public.”
One serving probation officer told Sky News the change “will create probation chaos”, adding it’s a “real threat to managing public safety”.
The measure will exclude many sexual offenders and domestic abusers, but not all.
Exclusion is based on the risk they pose, and there will be an opportunity for frontline workers to apply for additional licence conditions to manage concerns about an offender due to be released after 28 days.
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It’s understood that exclusions do not extend further than that because of the severity of the overcrowding situation, combined with the inability to exclude all domestic abusers because some can be charged with crimes such as GBH or ABH, meaning domestic abuse is not specifically the crime they were sentenced for.
The recall population has been growing for years, putting pressure on an overcrowded system.
Amy Rees, the interim permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, said any delay in enacting new emergency measures would become “intolerable”, meaning police could not make arrests.
The justice secretary said that male prisons were due to run out of space by November. The male estate is currently operating at around 99% capacity.
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An independent review of sentencing policy is due to make recommendations to the government in coming days, with the aim of sending fewer people to prison.
It’s expected to suggest the scrapping of some short sentences and increasing the use of alternatives to prison custody for non-violent offenders.
