AI Deployed to Tackle Prison Release Crisis
The UK government is turning to artificial intelligence to prevent the mistaken release of prisoners, following a series of embarrassing and dangerous errors. Justice Minister Lord Timpson announced to the House of Lords that HMP Wandsworth has been given the green light to implement AI solutions, including specialised chatbots.
A Spate of Costly Mistakes
The urgent move comes after a specialised digital team was dispatched to the south-west London prison to find quick technological fixes. This action was triggered by a double manhunt last week, launched after the incorrect release of two inmates: Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, and Billy Smith, 35.
Kaddour-Cherif, serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal and with a previous conviction for indecent exposure, was mistakenly freed on 29 October. Smith, sentenced to 45 months for multiple fraud offences, was wrongly released on Monday and handed himself back in on Thursday.
These incidents intensified pressure on Lord Chancellor David Lammy, who had already addressed a similar case. Just days earlier, sex offender Hadush Kebatu was erroneously released from Chelmsford prison on 24 October, leading to disturbances in Essex before he was apprehended in London.
How AI Will Reinforce the System
Lord Timpson detailed the potential applications for the new technology during Monday's session in the upper chamber. The AI systems are expected to:
- Read and process vast quantities of paper documents.
- Cross-reference names and aliases, a critical task given some offenders use more than 20 false identities.
- Merge different and often incompatible datasets.
- Accurately calculate complex release dates and sentences.
Currently, these vital tasks are often handled by inexperienced staff using calculators and reams of paper, a system described as being close to breaking point.
Lord Timpson highlighted the scale of the challenge, noting that while HMP Gartree averages just two releases a year, HMP Wandsworth handles around 2,000.
A System Under Immense Strain
The recent errors are not isolated incidents. Official government data reveals a shocking 128% increase in release errors in the 12 months to March this year, rising from 115 to 262. The vast majority of these mistakes, 233, occurred within prisons.
Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, labelled the situation a symptom of a system near collapse, calling the growing number of mistaken early releases embarrassing and potentially dangerous.
Unions and prison governors point to a combination of overcrowding, understaffing, complicated early-release schemes, and a reliance on a paper-based system where documents are easily lost between prisons, courts, and the Ministry of Justice.
As of this weekend, it was reported that four offenders released in error remained at large, though government sources later suggested one had been miscounted. In a statement, the prime minister's official spokesperson acknowledged the crisis, stating, These cases reflect the nature and scale of the prison crisis inherited by this government, and pointed to plans for 14,000 new prison places alongside technological modernisation.
