Andy Burnham has been warned that the early release of prisoners will "speed up the process" of police officers wanting to leave their roles amid plunging morale. The scheme saw 700 people let go before the end of their original sentences in order to free up space behind bars. But a number have already been re-arrested, including Michael Bogle, 38, a registered sex offender who committed shoplifting offences on the same day he was released.
Ex-officer's warning to the Prime Minister
Chris Hobbs, who served in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) for 32 years, told the Express when asked what he would say to the Prime Minister: "Whilst accepting that prison overcrowding is the responsibility of the last government, your government seems not to fully appreciate the effect early release will have on victims, the demands on police plus crime figures."
"Your government should also have introduced whatever legislation was necessary that would have imposed draconian sentences on those who commit offences after this scheme’s early release. In other words upon those who have been released under this scheme."
Morale plunging and victims discouraged
Mr Hobbs added: "Police morale is plunging with officers leaving or looking to leave. This will speed up the process. Officers already feel that the justice system isn't fit for purpose and this includes the CPS who often opt not to proceed with cases or plea bargain down offences.
"Early release plus lenient sentences can only discourage both victims and witnesses especially where the accused lives locally." The ex-copper said his primary emotion upon seeing the ex-inmates released was "one of sympathy for prosecution witnesses and victims especially where violence was involved". "They will be constantly looking over their shoulders," Mr Hobbs said.
Met commander's letter highlights re-offending
It comes as a letter written by Met Police Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams is being circulated online. He wrote: "As the local Borough Commander for north-west London, I am writing to you to highlight a concerning example of where an individual has been arrested within north-west London, following their release from prison as part of the Early Release Scheme.
"As elected representatives and partners, you will be aware that the criminal justice system is under severe and growing pressure - which has built over the past few years under successive Governments. The impact of that, primarily on victims, is striking - they are increasingly likely to withdraw from the criminal justice process because of delays; the Crown Court backlog has more than doubled since 2019.
"They are also losing confidence in a system that is not handling offenders and suspects adequately: tagging orders are not being strictly enforced and dangerous people are frequently being released on bail.
"In this context, it is concerning that the Early Release Scheme, introduced through the Sentencing Act 2026, will place more people within the community to serve the remainder of comes with significant risks to victims and places more costs onto policing."
Prolific offender released and re-arrested
He then described the latest example. Last Thursday, "a prolific shoplifter and registered sex offender" was released from HMP Wandsworth. "He was serving a sentence for shoplifting and breaching his criminal behaviour order and has subsequently been arrested following further offending within north-west London," Detective Chief Superintendent Williams wrote.
"This individual had been assessed as a high-risk offender by the Probation Service and had 16 previous convictions linked to more than 100 investigations, including multiple thefts, criminal damage and an incident of indecent exposure. While I am sure it is not surprising that someone with this history went on to re-offend, the speed with which he did so, and the impact on frontline policing, is astonishing.
"Just one day after his release, he was captured on CCTV stealing from two supermarkets in north-west London. When local neighbourhood officers visited the stores, staff reported that he had continued shoplifting throughout the weekend.
"A team of officers then spent an entire day locating the man and bringing him back into custody, where he was charged with four counts of shoplifting, breaching court orders and commercial burglary. He required constant observation while in custody, placing further pressure on custody officers.
"At the same time, local officers were gathering CCTV evidence and witness statements to build the case against him. The man subsequently pleaded guilty and is now back in prison. He was also recalled to prison by the Probation Service.
"The concerning nature of the Early Release Scheme in this case was a known prolific offender being put back into the community, only to immediately re-offend. Not only does this place communities at risk but puts demand straight back into policing who must arrest, investigate and put the individual into custody."
Political reaction and government response
Conservative Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp, said: "This is an extraordinary and very unusual letter from a senior police officer Labour let out this prolific offender early last Thursday - and he has already embarked on a crime spree, stealing and creating misery. The government did not even bother to tag all offenders on release, as they said they would, leaving criminals free to commit crime.
"Labour’s reckless and botched release scheme is unleashing a crime wave already They did not need to do this. There are prison places available that could be used now with a little work. And it shows why the Conservative plan to build 50,000 more prison places is so important."
Justice Secretary Alex Norris said on the day prisoners were released early: "We understand the anxiety victims face ahead of offenders’ release dates, but the greatest danger to victims would be prisons running out of cells for dangerous criminals, which was the crisis this Government inherited.
"Our plan will make sure this never happens again by building 14,000 prison places while subjecting offenders to the toughest-ever controls, leaving them nowhere to hide and under no doubt that we are watching them."
