Probation officers brace for ‘ticking time bomb’ as 1,700 prisoners freed early

Police chiefs warn officers have been plunged into ‘storm’ not of their making

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Overwhelmed probation officers have warned of a “ticking time bomb” for public safety as 1,700 inmates were freed early in a single day, in a desperate bid to stop the prison system from running out of space.

With more than 10,000 early releases under Tory schemes over the past year having failed to make a dent in the rocketing prison population, justice secretary Shabana Mahmood announced in July that thousands of inmates would be freed after serving 40 per cent of their sentence, instead of halfway through.

Ms Mahmood warned the move was necessary to avert “a total breakdown in law and order”, and on Tuesday The Times revealed that Rishi Sunak had been urged by police chiefs prior to the election to immediately trigger the policy or face the prisons crisis being exploited by criminals, endangering public safety.

While HM chief inspector Charlie Taylor said the new government had “no choice” but to free inmates early en masse, he repeated his warnings in December to The Independent that projections of a further 30 per cent rise in the prison population by 2028 would require a fundamental rethink of what prison is for.

Warning in his annual report, published on Tuesday, that the “brutalising” conditions in prisons were fundamentally undermining any efforts to reduce reoffending and creating more victims of crime, Mr Taylor warned it was inevitable that some of those freed early would go on to commit further crimes.

With the probation system already reeling from “chronic” staff shortages, low morale and excessive caseloads, probation union Napo warned on Tuesday that officers were worried about how they will be able to supervise the new influx of departing prisoners.

Expressing fears that the scheme “is just moving the problem from one place to another without properly assessing the risks to probation staff and the general public”, Napo chief Ian Lawrence warned that offenders convicted of sexual and domestic violence offences were among those being released early.

While both groups are among those excluded from the scheme, sexual offenders serving concurrent sentences involving a lesser crime are being freed under the scheme, Napo warned, while there are fears domestic abusers convicted of related offences like assault will have “slipped through the net”.

Pressed in the Commons by Tory former prisons minister Ed Argar, Ms Mahmood criticised “the sheer hypocrisy of talking about exclusions to this policy when” the previous government’s early release schemes “had no exclusions relating to domestic abuse whatsoever”.

There were scenes of jubilation at prison gates as some departing inmates tasting freedom weeks or months early were sprayed with sparkling wine and greeted by loved ones.

But the “party atmosphere” reported by multiple outlets was tempered, however, by those who feared ending up back behind bars was inevitable as a result of their sudden release into further uncertainty after months spent in violent, unpredictable and unproductive conditions.

And they came in stark contrast to warnings from victims’ commissioner Baroness Newlove saying that some victims had been left unaware of their offender’s early release.

Citing a government source suggesting that “hundreds” of victims may not have been informed, The Times also reported that victim liaison units tasked with notifying people about offenders’ circumstances had been overwhelmed with calls in recent days, with a source saying: “It’s been absolute chaos – we’re inundated with calls from upset victims.”

President of the Police Superintendents’ Association Nick Smart told the body’s annual conference that inmates were being set free without proper release plans and warned that the police would be left to deal with the consequences.

He said: “My colleagues are once again being placed at the centre of a storm that is not their doing, with the prospect of arresting offenders who can then not be placed in prison, and dealing with the fallout from the thousands of criminals being released early today, many potentially without proper rehabilitation and release plans.

“Will the public understand the position the police officers and the service are being put in here, or will we once again be viewed as a service getting it wrong?”

Asked whether he felt rehabilitated after his time in prison, one 59-year-old departing inmate convicted of violent crime and named only as “Mr T” told The Times: “Certainly not. There is no rehabilitation. No one talks to you, you just go in, lie down and 17 months later I’m out ... I’m not looking to re-offend, but, you never know. You can never say no.”

Another told the paper: “This is not a bonus for me, to be released like this, not knowing what’s going on, only having housing for three months,” he added.

Telling MPs that the scheme was the start of the "rescue effort" for the justice system, the justice secretary said she had authorised probation directors “to make use of alternative arrangements including budget hotels” to ensure there “isn’t a gap” in accommodation supply for offenders at risk of homelessness.

Ms Mahmood added: “On taking office two months ago, it was immediately clear that we had inherited a prison system at the point of collapse. That is why our emergency action, which will see certain offenders leave prison a few weeks or months early, has proved necessary.”