The UK government has released 1,700 prisoners, citing “extreme” pressure on the prison system.
According to the AFP Business Minister Jonathan Reynolds acknowledged the difficult decision, emphasizing that no violent offenders or domestic abusers would be eligible for early release.
“We’ve put greater protections in place to ensure public safety,” Reynolds said. “This decision should have been made prior to the election, but the previous government gave up on governing, leaving us with a scandalous prison system.”
Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones warned that reoffending was a “certainty” among some released prisoners, with around a third committing further offenses within a year.
“Prisons are absolutely close to 100 percent capacity, with only a couple of hundred spaces remaining,” Jones added.
The government has faced criticism for including those convicted of anti-immigration riots in the early release plans.
However, Reynolds insisted that public safety was the top priority, saying, “We’ve taken a careful and considered approach to ensure that those released do not pose a risk to the community.”
