Grooming gang members and killers will remain behind bars after an early prison release scheme was met with major backlash. Some 5,000 prisoners had been due to be released early from September under plans to ease jail overcrowding, down from 6,000 after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and “serious” child sex offenders.
Changes to the early release scheme
Mr Burnham initially resisted calls to limit the scheme further after it emerged that Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper in Berkshire in 2020, would be eligible from next year.
But under fresh changes announced on Sunday (August 30) anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter and death by dangerous driving, will be excluded from the scheme, the Press Association reports.
Grooming gang loophole closed
Grooming gang perpetrators will also be blocked from early release after concerns were raised about a potential loophole in the system. Indecent assault, an offence for which some child sex offenders were prosecuted before changes to sexual abuse laws in 2003, will be added to the list of exemptions to the scheme.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said 'hundreds' of people will remain in prison as part of changes to the scheme designed to ease prison overcrowding.
Indefinite sentences and IPPs
Some offenders serving indefinite jail sentences, which were abolished in 2012, will also be freed through legislation to be brought forward by the end of this Parliament, the Prime Minister promised. Mr Burnham said “hundreds” of extra people will remain in prison following the changes, which will be laid in Parliament through secondary legislation at the beginning of next week.
But he said extra space would be created by deporting foreign prisoners and releasing inmates who are serving indefinite sentences under imprisonment for public protection sentences (IPPs), which were given to offenders considered a significant risk to the public between 2005 and 2012.
But the changes to IPPs could take years to implement and will not be part of the initial measures to ease overcrowding. The Prime Minister said releasing some offenders on these sentences would require a “very careful” approach because some will still pose a risk of harm.
Cross-party oversight group
A cross-party oversight group will be set up to look at how to correct the “injustice” of the IPP system, which has seen many offenders convicted when they were young remain in jail for crimes that are “not at the same level of seriousness” as some of those who were previously eligible for early release.
“It does need to be done in a very careful way with regard to public safety, national security and all of those issues,” Mr Burnham said.
The Prime Minister ordered a review of the changes to the Sentencing Act, which is being undertaken by Justice Secretary Alex Norris and is set to be published when Parliament returns from summer recess.
