Violent and sex crimes will happen again in prison release plan, probation boss says

Probation chief inspector said he was afraid Government’s plan to release prisoners early It will lead to an increase in recidivism rates, including violent and sexual offences.

HM Chief Probation Inspector Martin Jones has made his first major intervention since the government’s decision to release thousands of prisoners early. I Paper is “inevitable” Some people released early from prison will continue to commit violent and sexual crimes.

The government launched the scheme in September to ease prison overcrowding, promising that those committing serious violent offences, sexual offenses and domestic abuse-related offenses would not be eligible for early release.

But Jones said he thought some people released under the program, known as SDS40, may have a history of violent and sexual offending.

Probation officers said a “loophole” in the scheme involving consecutive sentences – with only the most recent sentence counted – meant people with a history of previous violent and sexual offenses were also released early.

Asked if some of those released would commit violent crimes, Jones said, “Absolutely.” He added: “A lot of it will be money-making – burglary, theft and other things. But some of it will definitely be violent crime.”

The chief probation inspector also said it was “inevitable that some people released under SDS40 are likely to commit domestic violence offences”.

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The Women’s Aid Society said this month it was aware of this some domestic abuse perpetrators continued to reoffend since they were released under the program.

Jones expects the rate of people being recalled to prison for breaching their licences will also increase, as the parole service has been “significantly overextended”.

This comes after whistleblowers at the Probation Service told The Guardian. I Document stating that public safety is at risk We are having difficulty coping with the “chaos” created by the government’s early release plan.

Labor ministers announced the SDS40 plan was needed to deal with overcrowded prisons in the summer. The plan would cut the standard rate of determinate sentences that prisoners in England and Wales must serve from 50 per cent to 40 per cent –

About 2,800 prisoners were released early in two mass releases, one in early September and the other in late October. Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood said the Conservative Government was pushing the prison system to “the point of collapse”.

The chief probation inspector said: I The Labor Government had no choice but to impose early release, the document said, but added that an overly extended Parole Service had “adverse consequences”.

Mr Jones, who was reappointed in March, said the Probation Service was “very understaffed and had little experience of managing so many cases”. He added: “You are adding additional burden to these processes.”

The government is yet to announce any recall or reoffending figures since the early release scheme came into force.

The inspector general said the latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures showed that by the end of June, before Labour’s SDS40 programme, 60 per cent of people released from prison were recalled to custody for license breaches.

Asked if he expected an increase in recalls from the early release programme, Mr Jones said: I: “Definitely.”

He said: “What you’re likely to see when the Ministry of Justice releases its next set of statistics in January is an increase, a further increase, in the rate at which people are being detained.

“Every part of my being, my nose, tells me that when we come to January, the number of people detained will increase even more.”

Latest MoJ figures show Around 21,000 of the 79,000 offenders in England and Wales reoffend within a year of being released from prison; The recidivism rate is 26.4 percent.

Asked whether he would expect to see an increase in recidivism rates, Jones said: “I think it’s inevitable given the number of crimes that are taking place.” He added: “I’m certainly concerned that this (SDS40) may have an impact.”

Jones called on the Government to ensure there are more probation officers, although he said only a small proportion of the total recidivism he expects to occur under SDS40 would likely be for violent or sexual offences.

He also said the sentencing review, led by former Conservative Party minister David Gauke, was a chance to look at whether community organizations could take on more of the burden on the Probation Service.

Jones said: “He does not have the resources he needs to manage the caseload he is asked to manage. It needs more probation staff and better resources. “For the sentence to be reviewed, the Government needs to thoroughly examine what it wants the probation service to do.”

Mark Fairhurst, national president of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), said there was anecdotal evidence of prisoners being recalled after being released in September and October.

“Members tell me that as soon as prisoners are released, these spaces fill up again, and many re-emerge due to lack of support in their communities,” the union chief told The Guardian. I Paper.

Sounds like campaigners and lawyers say I Document proving the release of female prisoners under SDS40 They are given tents to sleep in as they are forced to become homeless.

They say community groups in areas surrounding at least two women’s prisons in England – HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire and HMP Styal in Cheshire – have been forced to distribute tents to women who have nowhere to stay after their release.

Tania Bassett, national officer for Napo, the union that represents probation officers, warned that a serious lack of housing options was likely to lead to an increase in the number of people breaching their license conditions.

“I would be surprised if there wasn’t an increase (in recall rates), especially among those released as homeless. If staff do not have time to spend with customers they are more likely to reoffend. “This will get worse for anyone who becomes homeless, especially in cold weather.”

Jones said the use of tents for evacuees was “unsatisfactory” but found it “not surprising” given the difficulty the Probation Service faces in finding enough suitable housing.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “The new Government inherited a prison system in crisis and has been forced to take difficult but necessary measures to continue to jail dangerous criminals and protect the public.

“This included replacing the last Government’s early release scheme with one that gives probation staff more time to prepare for a prisoner’s release and introduces new protections in relation to domestic violence offences. “We have also identified plans to recruit more than 1,000 trainee probation officers by March 2025 to help meet additional demand.”