Well, it hasn't taken long for a new PM that knows nothing about criminal justice to decide the best way to proceed is to let the media, victims and public petitions decide policy rather than Parliament:-
Prime Minister blocks hundreds more criminals from sentencing changesUnlawful killing and historic child sex offences will be blocked from upcoming changes to prison sentences after the Prime Minister ordered more serious offenders to be kept behind bars for longer.
- Prime Minister blocks manslaughter, death by drunk or dangerous driving and historic child sex offences from sentencing changes
- Builds on action to keep those in prison for rape, child sex or grooming offences behind bars
- Victims of domestic violence will be better protected from perpetrators, with record numbers of offenders set to leave prison tagged and the new restriction zones put in place, some as little as a few miles wide, for some sexual and violent offenders
- The government will deport thousands of foreign criminals and bring the injustice of IPP sentences to an end during this Parliament
The Prime Minister’s intervention will mean offenders in prison for killing an emergency worker in the line of duty will not be released any earlier. Historic grooming offences, all forms of manslaughter, death by dangerous driving and causing or allowing the death of a child will also be barred from the changes to the prison sentences.
This builds on the action already taken by the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor to stop anyone in prison for rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming from being released earlier. Murderers or anyone deemed the most dangerous by a court and handed a life or extended sentence were already blocked from seeing any reduction to their sentence and will stay locked up until they go before a Parole Board.
As a result of these changes today, hundreds more victims will no longer face the anxiety of seeing their offender coming out sooner than they were expecting.
Since coming into office, the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor have made significant changes to the plans they inherited. They want to go even further, but cannot do so without risking the entire justice system collapsing. This would mean the police would be unable to make arrests, the courts would stop sending criminals to jail and criminals would be left unchecked on our streets.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:
I know how strongly people feel about this issue. I understand the concern and anger because I share it. That’s why I took action during my first weeks as Prime Minister to block some of the very worst in society being released before they should. We moved quickly to block vile criminals who commit rape, sexually abuse children and groom vulnerable young people.The Prime Minister has also announced that he will end the injustice of Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences this Parliament, meaning people will no longer be trapped indefinitely under a sentence abolished more than a decade ago.
But I always said I wanted to do more. We will now not only be keeping offenders serving time for indecent assault locked up, but also those in prison for manslaughter and death by dangerous driving. This means that the awful criminals responsible for the killing of PC Andrew Harper will not have their sentence shortened.
The truth is I wanted to go even further. But I’ve pushed the system to the very limits of what’s possible without risking the prison system collapsing within months, putting the public at enormous risk. To protect victims, we will be introducing the toughest ever supervision measures for offenders, which effectively mean that someone’s sentence will not end when they leave prison. This includes tagging offenders and, for the very first time ever, putting restriction zones in place to stop offenders getting anywhere near their victims.
This decision recognises how deeply unjust it is that some offenders who have been locked up for nearly twenty years remain in prison, despite serving their sentence many times over, whereas many serious criminals convicted in recent years could have their jail time cut. While work on this will begin immediately, and on a cross-party basis, it will take time to get this right and balance fairness with public safety.
This is just one part of the government’s plan for a fairer justice system, looking at how some people can be punished more effectively outside prison – freeing up cells for those who pose the greatest risk to the public.
This will include considering how to safely reduce the number of and young offenders and women in custody, in particular those who are pregnant or have young children.
Powers will also be implemented early next year to deport some foreign criminals immediately after sentencing, blocking them from ever returning to the country, while keeping those in prison for the most serious crimes locked up for a substantial period before they are removed.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris said:
The Prime Minister and I have rightly looked again at these reforms and we are clear that people responsible for taking a life, or for appalling crimes against children, should be kept behind bars for longer.The Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor have also insisted that victims must remain at the centre of the justice system, with survivors of domestic abuse seeing offenders put under some of the toughest restrictions to date.
But protecting the public also means fixing the prison system for good. We will build the cells we need, put offenders under much tougher controls when they leave prison and end the historic injustice of IPP sentences.
This is a government running towards problems and not shying away from the tough decisions needed to build a justice system that is firm, fair and protects the public.
This includes a presumption that all prison leavers will be tagged and imposing possible bans on pubs and public events.
Perpetrators could also be confined to a specific area – some just a few miles wide – giving victims greater freedom to live their lives. In a world first, new ‘restriction zones’, which have been directly shaped by the experiences and campaigning of victims, will limit the movement of some sexual and violent offenders, with victims having a say in how zones are drawn up.
Victims advocates Hetti Barkworth-Nanton CBE, chair of Refuge, Frank Mullane MBE, CEO of Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse, and Jo Early, chief executive of Support after Murder and Manslaughter, said:
We welcome the Prime Minister’s decision to exclude all manslaughter cases from the early release scheme.The government inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse with fewer than 100 spaces left in the summer of 2024.
The original sentence lengths for these offences were, in part, intended to protect the public. The problem of prison capacity does not alter that underlying need for public protection. Therefore, making manslaughter offenders eligible for early release would risk undermining a key purpose of their sentences and could represent a significant compromise to public protection. This also re-assures families bereaved by homicide that they are not being asked to trade justice so prison overcrowding can be resolved.
A lack of investment in the prison estate with just 500 net places added for over a decade has led to a situation where adult male prisons are now at 98% capacity. That is why this government is taking decisive action to fix the broken prison system for good.
Under this government, more than 3,200 prison places have already been built, with 14,000 expected by 2031 under the largest prison build expansion since the Victorian era.
The Sentencing Act will restore order to the prison system and make sure we have cells available for dangerous criminals. Alongside record prison building, the reforms will put prisons on a sustainable footing and end the cycle of emergency release measures used before July 2024 when prisons repeatedly came close to running out of space.
David Gauke on Twitter:-
ReplyDeleteA few initial thoughts on what has been announced this morning on changes to the early release scheme. First, it has to be acknowledged that this is a very difficult issue for whoever is in office. For decades, sentences have been increased, as has the prison population. Prison capacity has not kept up (although our capacity is roughly twice that of Germany and the Netherlands) & cannot be increased rapidly. Even if capacity is not exceeded, running close to capacity has a detrimental impact on prison performance - as we have seen.
The Independent Sentencing Review was designed to put prisons on a sustainable footing, including by addressing an imminent capacity crisis. Our recommendations would've done that & have already helped. But, ultimately, Ministers take responsibility & make the decisions. Perhaps it's no surprise that a new PM would want to look again at the issue, but once you start looking at exclusions from the scheme, it is very hard to draw a line. The Govt made an attempt to do so in early August, but quickly retreated - and now we have today's proposals. These are broad & will mean that the prison population will be higher than it was. To reduce capacity pressures, the PM says he will reduce the number of foreign national offenders (FNOs) & imprisonment for public protection (IPP) prisoners in our jails.
On FNOs, the Sentencing Review recommended deporting earlier, & the previous govt went beyond that. But there's a balance to be struck. If an FNO is deported, it doesn't mean that they necessarily go to a foreign jail. Deportation will be insufficient punishment for many FNOs. IPPs were outside the scope of the Sentencing Review but I looked at the issue when Justice Secretary. It's very hard to justify the IPP regime, but the reality is that the remaining IPPs are in prison for good reason. They have been assessed (repeatedly) as being high risk. For example, I looked at their prison disciplinary records & in many cases it was clear why they'd not been released. Caution is still needed.
In terms of public protection, releasing IPPs comes with much higher risks than the categories excluded from the early release scheme. I suspect that the Govt will not find it easy to accelerate the release of FNOs & IPPs (&, in the latter case, it'd be irresponsible to do so). So what does this mean for prison capacity? This is my biggest concern & there are questions that need to be answered.
How much higher will the prison population be compared to previous projections because of the new measures? What assumptions have been made about FNO & IPP numbers? Above all, what are the capacity projections for the next few months? How close to full are we going to get? (Ministers cannot possibly have made these decisions without being advised as to how close to capacity we expect to get, so Parliament will presumably be told this on Tuesday.) What contingency plans are in place if we hit full capacity? Again, there must be such plans.
Here's Catherine McKinnell MP demonstrating a firm grasp on Criminal Justice Matters:-
ReplyDelete"Protecting the public means fixing the prison system for good.
That’s why we are keeping serious offenders in for longer & ending the historic injustice of IPP sentences, while building the cells we need with the largest prison-building programme since the Victorian Era."
Protecting the public also means not overloading the probation service that is already struggling!
DeleteThe rethoric isnt that far removed from what Grayling and Wright were spouting in 2014.
DeleteThat rethoric too came as a precursor to huge impacts on probation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closure_of_Prisons_Order_2014
'Getafix
“Protecting the public means fixing the prison system for good.”
DeleteYes America chose that public protection option over rehabilitation models too. Has it worked?
Approximately 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States across federal, state, local, and tribal confinement systems focusing on retribution (punishment) and deterrence (long sentences).
In comparison the total prison population across the major Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland) hovers around 17,000 individuals, reflecting a famously low incarceration rate with focus on rehabilitation as a primary driver.
Interestingly, America started with probation, championed by John Agustus.
DeleteIt was when the law makers got involved and forced it down the public protection route that things got complicated. Enforcement and rehabilitation were not good bedfellows leading to the creation of a dual system.
Parole officers were recruited to monitor those deemed to require enforcement to oversee compliance. Probation officers were left to a purpose of rehabilitation.
I've thought for awhile that the current UK model of probation might be leading to a similar division. I've also though at times that such a seperation of distinction might be the only way back for our probations original purpose and ethos?
Just an observation, but probation officers are paid considerably more then parole officers in the States.
'Getafix
There is a connection. The phrase "prison works" was coined by American conservative writer Charles Murray and later made famous by UK Home Secretary Michael Howard in his 1993 Conservative Party Conference speech.
DeleteMurray and conservative policymakers were part of a shared ideological movement that argued imprisonment effectively reduces crime through deterrence and incapacitation if applied strictly, which helped legitimise the political shift toward mass incarceration.
Maybe look at the Canada model where anything up to two years of imprisonment is considered a rehabiltative sentence and supervised and funded by the provinces ( in practice due to lengthy remand periods ) this can be up to about 5 years imprisonment ( UK time) . Anything over two years is supervised by CSC (funded by federal goverment) and is purely parole focused .PPO from the Provinces write PSRS and the courts are clearly aware of the distinction between a rehabilative sentence and a sentence that may require a more punative outcome and supervision. As regards pay federal PPO's get a bit more but not overly so.
DeleteProtect the public by overwhelming the probation service, the very organisation whose role it is, is to protect the public……genius!
ReplyDeleteBTW that mythical £700 million has been spent many times over……
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/aug/30/andy-burnham-end-indefinite-jail-terms-ipp
ReplyDeleteTimes..(paywall)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/probation-workload-monitoring<-tool-axed-p3kdhtv88
"Probation officers fear ‘stitch-up’ as workload monitoring tool axed
System that monitors staff caseloads to be scrapped just weeks before the revised early-release scheme begins"
It is a stitch up. A monumental one!
DeleteWhy do we not know about this before it hits the headlines .
ReplyDeleteSick of this. 23 years in: struggling with it all. Overwhelmed probation service with no light at the end of the tunnel: I work in a London pdu -
‘Red site’ since 2022 - 3 recent resignations all new officers with little time in service: caseloads high; probation service at breaking point. No one cares.
Just get on with it and I’m a manager who loved their job:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/aug/30/pc-harper-killers-prison-early-release-scheme
ReplyDeleteBBC News website:-
DeletePrisoners who were freed under the government's last early release scheme are returning to jail at a rapid rate, prison governors have told the BBC.
They say they are seeing the same inmates, who were let out as part of the 2024 early release scheme to ease overcrowding, coming back after reoffending - including for breaching their conditions.
"The churn is what stresses me out," said one governor in the Midlands, describing it as a "revolving door".
It comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced changes to the next early release scheme, starting in October, following outrage that the killers of PC Andrew Harper were among those eligible to be released.
On Sunday, Burnham announced that they will not be, telling the BBC that anyone convicted of unlawful killing will be excluded from the scheme.
He conceded that it means "hundreds" more people will stay in prison - as prisons in England and Wales reach breaking point at more than 97% full.
The government says there are plans to create more prison space by deporting foreign inmates and releasing some who are serving indefinite sentences, but they are unlikely to create much more space by the time the first batch of inmates are released in October.
BBC News spoke to three serving prison governors in England to gauge the state of correctional facilities and how staff are dealing with overcrowding. Prison staff are not supposed to speak to the media so their names and the prisons they govern will not be mentioned to protect their identity.
One governor from a prison in the north of England said the PM's plans to ease overcrowding "is all short-term solutions and we need space now".
"Providing additional cells in existing prisons will mean more prison staff needed to monitor that - it's not easy," they said, adding that staff shortages mean "prisoners are not living in a safe and decent environment".
The governor also said they were frustrated by the rate of prisoner recalls, saying: "We see the same people coming back after being released early and reoffending again, or breaking their [release] rules."
There were 51,419 licence recalls in the year ending March 2026 - when a person is sent back to prison because they breached their release conditions or raised new risk concerns. The number went up from 40,259 in the previous year - a 28% increase.
Although recalls in January to March were slightly lower than the previous three-month period, they remain well above historical levels.
'The system will grind to a halt'
DeleteAnother prison governor who also works in the north of England told the BBC that something needs to be done about overcrowding and prisoner recalls, or "the criminal justice system will grind to a halt".
"You release someone to serve the rest of their sentence in the community and you think 'now I have some extra room', but then they're back again and you just go round in circles.
"It's a big problem in the [men's prisons] and you worry that this is what will happen again when all these new people are let out."
As of March this year, more than 70,000 people had been released under the 2024 early release scheme.
But there are still almost 87,000 people in prisons across England and Wales - with just over 2,000 spaces remaining. With a backlog in the criminal courts of tens of thousands of cases, prison staff say that simply isn't enough space.
A rise in gang tensions within prisons is another impact of the overcrowding crisis, one of the governors from the north of England said.
They explained that due to the lack of space, more people from different parts of the country are being placed in the same facility, therefore increasing the chances of regional rivalries.
"When you've got inmates from Manchester and Liverpool for example, there is a worry there could be gang tension. Or having people from different parts of London could mean an escalation in threat levels because of rival gangs," they said.
"This has always happened, but it's happening more because so many prisons are full, and so people are sent to prisons far away," they added.
The lack of space has also led to cells, which are designed to hold one person, being used for two inmates, the other governor from northern England said, which raises "serious health and safety concerns".
"The single cells are small and they have a workspace for eating and an open toilet... so you're eating and going to the loo in a very small area and then you have to put another person in there and they're doing it all together," they said.
"Prisons are already dealing with an infestation issue and this could make it worse."
The BBC understands that work has begun to create more cells in prisons by re-purposing existing spaces, but that is expected to take months.
The prime minister had been under increasing pressure to block the early release of the killers of PC Harper, who died in 2019 when he was dragged by a car as three teenagers fled a quad bike theft in Berkshire.
There were concerns that two of them - Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole - may have been eligible for early release under the government's plan, and more than one million people signed a petition calling for them to remain behind bars.
As well as those convicted of manslaughter and murder, serious child sex offenders, rapists and groomers will not be eligible for early release under the new scheme as part of the Sentencing Act, as well as prisoners convicted of indecent assault offences and death by dangerous driving.
On Tuesday, the justice secretary is expected to give further details, including how many people will be affected, during a statement to Parliament.
For one of the prison governors in the north of England, the situation is at breaking point. They said some inmates must be set free for capacity reasons, but ministers need to look at wider maintenance issues, too.
Delete"We've got to alleviate the pressure somehow or we will break... But prison spaces could be made available if we maintained buildings properly," they explained. "We have too many cells we can't use because there's something wrong with them which seems ridiculous when you have an overcrowding crisis."
The governor said England's prisons have not been properly maintained for decades, and the problems have snowballed, creating "fragile infrastructure regularly breaking and preventing proper regimes from operating".
"If prisons are full, you can't carry out big maintenance projects and you lose those spaces. It's unsustainable. It's like having a car that you have to drive 24/7. If you don't service it and run it constantly you shouldn't be surprised if it fails and can't be fixed."
Tom Wheatley, president of the Prison Governors Association (PGA) told the BBC that no governors had been briefed on the government's plans to ease overcrowding.
"How are we supposed to deal with angry and confused prisoners when we find out about the plans last minute?" he asked.
A 2024 National Audit Office report concluded that "over the next few years there will be continued risk to the capacity in prisons, because of the poor condition of parts of the estate".
It said that "a quarter (23,000) of prison places do not meet fire safety standards".
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "Less than one in seven prisoners in custody are on recall, and it is a vital tool to keep the public safe.
"This government inherited prisons in crisis but we are fixing this, reforming the length of time people spend on recall to reduce the prison population, building 14,000 new places, launching the biggest ever expansion of tagging, and giving victims a say in the strict licence conditions of offenders."
Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy also raised concerns about the prime minister's plans, in particular the release of some on indefinite life sentences.
"By definition, the people who are still in prison on those sentences are dangerous, because they've all been considered by independent expert assessors who have concluded that they are not safe to release and they would be a danger to the public," he told the BBC.
Although he conceded that some of the problems predated the current Labour government: "I'm fully open about the fact that one of the failures of the last Conservative government was that not enough prison places were built."
Former Prison Governor John Podmore sums things up on Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"There will be cross-party support on the principle but who will sign off on the release of people made more dangerous, institutionalised, mentally ill and generally screwed by David Blunkett’s bright idea?"
Ian Acheson on Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"What does it say about the health of an organisational culture when the key people in it, prison Governors, can only speak about conditions through anonymity? Good thing there's 6,500 non -operational people at HMPPS HQ. More than enough for a mole hunt.
Nobody is suggesting that genuinely dangerous people should simply be released into the streets. So there needs to be a new mechanism where people are resentenced with a determinate sentence - precisely what was suggested by the justice select committee some years ago.
There also needs to be access to offending behaviour programmes and intensive release preparation so that people can be given the chance to address their offending behaviour and reduce the amount of recalls for trivial licence breaches. "
More Ian Acheson on Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"IPP was a well intentioned failure creating a grotesque injustice where people locked up indefinitely were denied programmes they needed to demonstrate they were safe to release. Making some of them *more* dangerous & not a few to take their own lives. This needs addressing.
Nobody is suggesting that genuinely dangerous people should simply be released into the streets. So there needs to be a new mechanism where people are resentenced with a determinate sentence - precisely what was suggested by the justice select committee some years ago.
There also needs to be access to offending behaviour programmes and intensive release preparation so that people can be given the chance to address their offending behaviour and reduce the amount of recalls for trivial licence breaches.
This is an injustice that must & should be corrected with fairness & public protection at its heart. I realise I'm on a different side of the argument to many people I would otherwise agree with. But in all conscience I can't agree with indefinite detention in these cases."
Could the MoJ not look at a minor variation to the Bail Act to allow remand prisoners to make another application? I was always unconvinced by the arguments that bail beds had to be located 'on-the-day' in Mags courts. The huge remand population could be chipped away at if a bail bed or a helpful relative could be identified at a later stage in the proceedings. It probably would not make a huge dent in the remand population, but every little helps.
ReplyDeleteRemand prisoners can make repeated bail applications and frequently do
DeleteI am thinking it will be criminal in justice prisons that will trip up Burnham's useless government. The idea of letting them out early means the released will know they cannot easily be returned . It is easier to commit crime than see justice again so why not. Low conscience offender will have a field day . The set Burnham is dancing on a pin of trouble he doesn't get.
ReplyDeleteMany of us who work with IPP prisoners know that they stopped being dangerous under the understanding several years ago as the IPP sentence was given out like sweeties up to 2012…..the convoluted approach to releasing these prisoners over that past few years was the system trying to placate the red top press and not very versatile…….they need end sentence dates now……..
ReplyDeleteIf OFPS really releases 25% capacity, why stop measuring capacity just before it does?
ReplyDeleteIs this part of the early release scheme that hasn't really been considered?
ReplyDeleteBurnham is going to end rough sleeping by Christmas isnt he?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y5287j0y5o
'Getafix
One in six prison leavers in London are released into homelessness, according to analysis by the social justice group Nacro, as the Probation Service struggles with what is being dubbed a "chronic workload crisis".
DeleteIt is part of a wider picture of failing support for people leaving prison, says Kelly Grehan, policy manager at the justice reform charity Revolving Doors.
The government says it is working to reduce prison leaver homelessness and investing in probation services.
Up to 50,000 people in England are so-called "prolific offenders", trapped in cycles of repeated low-level crime, like shoplifting and drug possession, according to the charity.
The majority of those in this group - which costs the criminal justice system an estimated £242m each year - have poor mental health, addiction problems, and are living in poverty or on the streets.
"Services just aren't set up for the complexities these people have," Grehan said, adding that for people coming out of prison, it is quite common to be placed in unsuitable accommodation, "exacerbating these problems".
"Many tell us they were released into hostels where people used drugs, when they'd just managed to get off drugs themselves."
'I was on my own'
Half the prison population in England and Wales has an identified drug problem, according to a report by the Ministry of Justice.
Anne-Marie - not her real name - was one of them. She was addicted to crack cocaine when she was first sent to prison at 22.
As a care leaver, she lacked family support. She had had her first child at 16, and was pregnant with her second, which made her wary of being open with services about the extent of her addiction.
"I didn't want to tell them the whole story," she said.
She had not been using drugs while she was in prison but, when she was released, was given a place in a probation hostel in Camden, which she described as a "legal crack-house".
"Staff would check on you, but there was no real support and nothing to do."
Boredom was a catastrophic trigger.
"I cut off my tag, used drugs when I was pregnant, and got put back in jail."
Over the next 20 years, she estimates she was sent back to prison nine times, either being recalled or for reoffending.
Now more than four years clean, Anne-Marie says when people come out of prison "they need to be supported every step of the way".
During one of her stints in prison, Anne-Marie got a place in rehab treatment, which she said gave her a taste of what life could look like.
"I thought, 'I don't want this life any more.' Life off drugs looked better."
'It's getting worse'
DeleteTania Bassett is a national official at Napo - the trade union for probation staff. She has been working in the Probation Service for 20 years, and says it is suffering from a "chronic workload crisis".
The early-release scheme - which aims to relieve the prison capacity crisis - will see an influx of an estimated 5,000 people being dealt with by the Probation Service.
"The crisis we have at the moment is going to be exacerbated, and that translates into less prisoner support," Bassett said.
Some Napo members have said they are being told not to spend more than half an hour with each client a week because they have such high caseloads.
"It becomes a tick-box exercise. You don't have time to get to know that individual or for them to trust you," Bassett said.
Officers also suffer from the stress of the knowledge that they are not giving individuals the support they need, and that they might go on to commit serious offences.
"The worst that can happen is someone could die - and that's a big weight to carry on your shoulders."
'Families can't cope'
Lorna's son Steve - not their real names - was sent to prison when he was 19. He came out three years later, in an "awful mental state".
Steve has autism, ADHD, anxiety and depression, but Lorna said he went on to present a range of new mental health issues, because of the trauma he had suffered in prison.
"I didn't know what to do with him," she said.
All of the mental health support Lorna had fought for before Steve's imprisonment had fallen away. She was told he had gone to the back of the queue.
Steve's probation officer assured Lorna they would help him readjust, but her son "wasn't in a position to be helped".
"Probation are there to monitor them, but they don't walk with them hand in hand," she said.
"Families cannot cope; they want to help their loved ones, but they're very much left alone with damaged people."
Within five months of being released, Steve had reoffended and was recalled to prison.
"I asked him why he did it, and he said he just didn't know what to do," Lorna said.
In a response to the BBC's request for comment, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "This government inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse and a homelessness crisis with rough sleeping having more than doubled since 2010."
They added that the government aimed to halve prison leaver homelessness by 2029, had invested £700m in probation and community services, and announced a national effort to end rough sleeping.
What i find particularly striking is...
Delete"Up to 50,000 people in England are so-called "prolific offenders", trapped in cycles of repeated low-level crime, like shoplifting and drug possession, according to the charity."
The figures being quoted (50,000) is almost identical to the number of recalls!
Coincidence?
'Getafix
This is actually a really important point.
ReplyDeleteBurnham has promised that everyone sleeping rough will be offered a route off the streets by Christmas.
At the same time, Government intends to release substantially more people from prison into the community.
So presumably these two policies have been modelled together?
Presumably somebody knows how many people released under the new sentencing arrangements are expected to be homeless or at risk of homelessness?
Presumably accommodation has been factored into the implementation plan?
Because releasing somebody early, fitting them with a tag, giving them a curfew and then discovering they haven’t actually got anywhere stable to live would be quite an achievement even by criminal justice standards.
We keep talking about recall as though it begins with a probation officer making an enforcement decision.
Often it begins much earlier.
No accommodation. No stability. No treatment. No support. Then non-compliance. Then recall.
If Government genuinely wants fewer recalls and fewer people sleeping rough, perhaps this is one occasion where two departments might actually want to speak to each other before October.
Otherwise we may succeed in achieving the rather remarkable feat of knowing exactly where somebody is by GPS while having nowhere for them to live.
More from Ian Acheson on Twitter:-
ReplyDelete"I suspect we are going to see a rocket put under Alex Norris tomorrow to to get cell space and the officers to supervise them as the Government finally realises the folly of listening to the criminal justice commentariat instead of ordinary voters and victims.
I'd start with an independent audit of prison capacity to ensure that the figures on space are accurate and that all available space across our hundreds of prisons is being used. All operational HQ staff redeployed to front line save crisis management.
I'd also get the best minds (NB this excludes MoJ) around restoring Dartmoor prison to viability - the kit is mothballed, the staff are available. We put a man on the moon nearly 60 years ago, why can't we deal with radon?!
Let's do a national emergency recruitment drive (again keep MoJ HR away from this) with attractive retention bonuses and pension enhancements to get staff who have resigned in earlier staff culls back into an emergency taskforce to plug gaps in mothballed wings.
And finally there must be some of the ridiculously closed small prisons in 2010-15 that haven't been flogged to speculators. Much easier to refurbish than build from scratch.
'Where there's a will there's a can't' at the MoJ. This needs national leadership. Otherwise Andy Burnham your premiership will be haunted by the extra victims and public outrage this rotten strategy will create."
https://www.poauk.org.uk/news-events/news-room/posts/2026/august/circ-075-poa-fringe-meeting-at-labour-party-conference-28th-september-2026/
DeleteWhat date is NAPO's fringe meeting and what speakers have the retained?
As part of our continuing campaign to restore the Right to Strike for Prison Officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the POA will be holding a Fringe Meeting at the Labour Party Conference on Monday 28th September from 6.00pm until 9.00pm at the Spanish Caravan, Slater Street, Liverpool, L1 4BX.
DeleteSpeakers at the event include John McDonnell MP, Ian Byrne MP, Sally Jameson MP (and former Prison Officer), Richard Burgon MP, Ian Lavery MP, Paula Barker MP, Gary Smith, General Secretary of the GMB, and of course Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the POA, Steve Gillan, General Secretary of the POA, plus many others.
This is an opportunity to highlight the issues affecting our members, hear updates on the POA's work, and contribute directly to the direction of our Campaign.
As Prison Officers, we face challenges every day that few outside our profession truly understand. Increasing violence, staffing pressures, excessive workloads, assaults on staff, and the continuing demands placed upon us all require a strong and united response from our Union. Yet, unlike many other workers, Prison Officers do not possess the right to take industrial action. This Fringe Meeting is another strand to our Campaign to restore our Trade Union and Human Rights.
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/domestic-abuse-victims-warn-early-release-scheme-5HjdgjH_2/
ReplyDelete'He’s going to kill me': Domestic abuse victims warn Early Release Scheme will put lives at risk
DeleteSurvivors of domestic abuse have told LBC that abusers shouldn’t be let out under the government’s prison plan
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/czdzlm73676o
ReplyDelete