Planned changes to sentencing will lead to the early release of almost 2,000 people from prisons in England and Wales, beginning today and continuing over the next month. This initial phase is part of an estimated 5,000 releases anticipated over the next year.
The government has stated that these early releases are intended to address the immediate crisis in prisons, but it acknowledges that this is not a permanent solution. Wider reforms across the system are reportedly needed to prevent further acceleration of early releases.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the criminal justice charity Nacro, highlighted issues such as high levels of psychosis and drug abuse within prisons. He also noted that recall to prison now accounts for one in seven of the prison population, compared to one in 13 a decade ago.