£1,500 if You Leave Prison Early
The word ‘crisis’ is often used to describe something that has befallen quite suddenly.
However, the prison crisis in England and Wales is something that has been bubbling underneath the surface for several years at this point, and is only now prompting a drastic response from the government.
Prisons are practically full, with the latest data showing that men's prisons are at 99.7% capacity with only 238 spaces available, while women's prisons and 96.9% full with a mere 118 places open for new admissions.
A new policy from the Ministry of Justice will allow certain low-level prisoners to be released from jail up to 35 days before their sentence is due to end. There is also scope to extend this time frame to 60 days if needed.
It is also worth noting about the policy comes with other restrictions. It is currently slated to only apply for a limited time in certain areas and prisoners who are released may be subject to conditions such as electronic tagging.
However, do not mistake this as anything other than desperation on the part of the Secretary of State for Justice, Alex Chalk.
The announcement came not long before another policy was unveiled whereby foreign prisoners would be offered £1,500 if they agreed to be deported back to their home country instead of serving out the remainder of their sentence here in the UK.
This early removal scheme itself is not new and, in fact, dates back to 2006, but whereas before it was available to offenders who were within 12 months of being released, it is to be extended so that prisoners will be able to fly home with 18 months still left to serve and £1,500 in their pockets.
These efforts are unlikely to even scratch the surface as prisons are expected to be full by Easter.
The crisis has come about because of a history of failures, compounded by the pandemic. It is not going to be solved overnight by offering foreigners a bit of extra cash or releasing some offenders a month or two early.
Ultimately, the government is trying to have its cake and eat it.
If Downing Street wants to pursue a hard line on crime then that is a legitimate policy choice, but ministers have to be prepared to then fund that decision from top to bottom. That means more police, an effective criminal justice system, and more prison places to house offenders.
When that investment is not forthcoming then politicians are in no position to act surprised when crises emerge.
The current problems are nothing more than the consequences of the government’s own actions.
This week on the podcast, Amazon is on trial! Goods that were being offered on the retail giant’s U.S. website were allegedly targeted at UK consumers in a breach of trade mark law.
Episode link: https://uklawweekly.com/2024-uksc-8/
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