The UK government plans to release a second batch of 1,000 prisoners early to address overcrowding in jails, following the early release of 1,700 inmates last month. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood assured that errors from the previous release, where 37 ineligible prisoners were freed, have been resolved.
A broader review of sentencing is underway, focusing on alternative punishments, such as home detention curfews and "nudge" technology, to reserve prison space for dangerous offenders.
The early release policy allows certain non-violent offenders to be released after serving 40% of their sentence, instead of the usual 50%. Former Justice Secretary David Gauke, who chairs the review, highlighted that the prison population is growing by 4,500 annually, with most inmates being offenders.
Mahmood attributed the crisis to the previous Conservative government, warning that the prison system was nearing collapse when Labour took office. The review aims to find sustainable solutions for punishment and rehabilitation to improve the justice system.
