Criminals reoffend after early release from prison – supervisory authority

According to a watchdog, offenders released early as part of efforts to reduce prison overcrowding are being sent back to prison after committing a new crime.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said a quarter of prisoners released from HMP Nottingham under the previous government's early release scheme were homeless when they left the prison, leading to “inevitable recalls”.

The early release program – known as the End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) – was introduced last year by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government to address prison overcrowding.

More than 10,000 prisoners were released up to 70 days early between October 2023 and June this year under the emergency plan, according to Justice Department figures released last month.

Originally, prisoners could be released 18 days before their parole date, but in March this year this period was extended to 35 days and then to 70 days in May.

In a report published on Monday, Taylor said release preparations at the Category B reception prison in the East Midlands were “often chaotic and rushed” despite staff “trying their best”.

“A quarter of the inmates released under this program (ECSL) were homeless, and although the data was inconclusive, recalls inevitably occurred,” he said.

When prisoners are released from prison on parole, they must comply with certain conditions, including not committing any further crimes, or risk being sent back to prison, which is known as remand.

Inspectors spoke of an “enormous prisoner throughput” at the prison, which releases more than 180 inmates each month. At the time of the inspection in May, 924 inmates were held there.

The early release program “undermined the preparation of effective, practical and safe release planning, despite the determined efforts of prison and probation teams,” the report said. It added: “These arrangements often resulted in frantic last-minute activity, which was then further compromised by updated policy changes that came into effect during the inspection.”

According to the findings, the early release program put “significant pressure” on prison management and the “understaffed offender management.”

Mr Taylor described the number of inmates released early because they were homeless as “astonishing”, but said it was “uncertain how many were recalled”.

Inspectors also expressed their “disappointment” that the arrangements in place to protect the public were “still not good enough” and that “not enough attention was being paid to the more vulnerable prisoners who are about to be released”, despite this having been raised as a “priority concern” during a previous inspection.

“Overall, Nottingham is a prison that is coping with the many challenges it faces, but it remains a fragile institution that poses high risk due to its constantly changing inmate numbers,” added Mr Taylor.

The Ministry of Justice was asked for a comment.