Up to 1,200 "non-dangerous" offenders walked out of prison up to 18 days early yesterday as the government's emergency package to ease the jails crisis was put into effect.The release of so many prisoners on end of custody licences came not a moment too soon for the governors of the 140 prisons in England and Wales, who were struggling to cope this week with a prison population that had again topped a record 81,000. A further 400 are expected to be released early on Monday.
The urgency of the situation was underlined last night by the release of official figures showing jail numbers had risen by a further 90 in the last week, with 81,038 held in custody yesterday, including 351 prisoners locked in emergency police cells. The official capacity of the prison estate in England and Wales is just 81,442, including 400 police cells.
The new justice secretary, Jack Straw, yesterday said that about 1,000 offenders a month who are serving sentences of four years or less would be released 18 days early under the scheme: "This will carry on until we do get stability in the prison population," he said.
Mr Straw defended the scheme, saying that those who left prison yesterday had been carefully selected by prison governors and those who were serving more than 12 months would be under the supervision of a probation officer. Others would be recalled if they breach their licences.
He defended the payment of a discharge grant of £172 to each prisoner to cover subsistence payments in lieu of benefits, which they cannot claim until the end of their sentence. Families and friends waited to greet the released offenders outside prison gates across England and Wales yesterday.
At Walton prison, Liverpool, which was criticised by the chief inspector of prisons as severely overcrowded with its full-capacity population of 1,335, about 70 offenders were released. At HMP Leeds in Armley a 27-year-old man who walked free three days early after serving eight weeks for driving offences said: "It's all right for us. I'm happy." He said he was glad to be out as there were "way too many people in there." Another man nearby who did not want to be named said he was waiting for his father: "He's only been in prison for two weeks. It's ridiculous, but I'm well happy - we're going out for a drink tonight."
| The daily prison population has risen from 66,000 in 2001 to more than 81,000. |
A radical extension in the use of bail hostels is expected to reduce prison numbers by a further 1,000. Ministers have, however, made clear they believe it will be necessary to keep Operation Safeguard - housing prisoners in police and court cells - going until the end of the year.
Juliet Lyon, of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "The sight of 1,000 people leaving prison early, ill-prepared for life outside, must prompt a new team of justice ministers to put aside panic measures and make sensible plans for the future."
Paul Cavadino of Nacro, the ex-offenders' charity, welcomed the move, saying it was the only immediately available way of relieving the prison population crisis.