"1,500 to be released early as prison crisis bites" by Alan Travis, The Guardian

20th June 2007

Between 1,500 and 1,800 non-dangerous offenders are to be released from prison next week, 18 days before the end of their sentence, in an effort to ease the prison crisis. The extension of the early release scheme was announced yesterday by Lord Falconer, the justice secretary, after the daily prison population in England and Wales hit a record of 81,016 on Monday.

The Ministry of Justice said the early release scheme would not apply to those who had committed serious sexual or violent crimes or who were serving more than four years, adding that the move would cut the daily prison population by 1,200. At the same time Gordon Brown announced that the Treasury was making £240m available to build an extra 1,500 prison places on top of the 8,000 already planned by 2012. The first 500 places are in the form of £80m-worth of "ready-built residential" units and will be in place by the end of the year.

The decision to announce the extra money at the same time as the extended early release scheme - rejected by Tony Blair as recently as last month - was intended to soften the impact of a move condemned by the Conservatives. But privately ministers are anxious that yesterday's package may not be enough to stem the rise in the prison population, which has been increasing by more than 200 a week, and October has already been pencilled in as a new pinch point.

This anxiety is thought to lie behind Lord Falconer's announcement that Operation Safeguard - the emergency arrangement to use up to 500 police and court cells each night - will remain in place until the end of the year.

About 25,000 prisoners who receive sentences of between four weeks and four years every year will be eligible for the new early release scheme, which will come into effect from June 29. Foreign nationals will be excluded.

All those who apply will go through a risk assessment to ensure they are not a danger to the public and will remain under the supervision of the probation service. They face being recalled to prison if they breach the terms of their release licence.

The decision to ensure that nobody serving fewer than four weeks is eligible will mean that those sentenced to seven days - for offences such as non-payment of a fine - will still go to prison. Lord Falconer insisted that the measure would not put the public at risk and did not amount to "executive release" when prisoners were let out early without supervision.

"This is a temporary measure," he said. "Release on licence is not the same as executive release. Releasing people on licence means their sentence continues."

When Mr Blair leaves Downing Street next week he will have seen the prison population rise from 61,467 in 1997 to 81,000 this month. Over the same period, Labour has built 20,000 more jail places, including nine new prisons.

The shadow home secretary, David Davis, claimed yesterday's move would put public safety at risk and claimed that Mr Brown had created the crisis by freezing the Home Office budget and refusing permission for new jails because they could not be kept off the balance sheet by using the private finance initiative.

But penal reformers welcomed the move. Prison Reform Trust director Juliet Lyon said: "Releasing some people, assessed as no risk to the public, will take the heat off overcrowded jails for a while. But instead of lurching from crisis to crisis, government must use this respite to set out how it will reserve prison for serious and violent offenders."

Harry Fletcher of Napo, the probation union, said Home Office projections in the late 1990s had warned of a prison population above 80,000. "They've had eight, nine years and really done nothing, so there's been no easing up on sentencing because it would be unpopular, but also there's been no substantial building programme and no provision for probation."

The options

Prison ships and army camps

Two ships to be moored near ports. Could provide 300-400 spaces per vessel. Restricted to immigration detainees but no port has been found willing to take them. Plan to convert barracks in Dover scrapped after service family opposition.

Build more prisons

Further 9,500 prison places ordered in blocks and new jails but programme will not be completed until 2012. First 350 places next month at converted hospital in Liverpool. Some temporary units later this year. Treasury has funded £1.5bn capital cost but Prison Service has yet to find £350m annual running costs.

Expand early release schemes

Prison governors could make greater use of home detention curfew, under which low-risk prisoners are released early wearing electronic tag. Some offenders serving less than four years are now to be released under supervision.

Executive release

"Nuclear option". Justice secretary orders release of thousands of low-risk prisoners without conditions or supervision. Consistently rejected.

Custody plus

Plan in 2003 Criminal Justice Act in which 60,000 prisoners given less than a year would serve most of their sentence in the community. Shelved for lack of money.

Urge judges and magistrates to jail fewer people

Repeatedly tried but has failed to stem increase in prison numbers.

Free women and the mentally ill

Not enough hospital places for 5,000 mentally ill prisoners and closure of women's jails politically fraught.