Prisoners in England and Wales will be able to earn early release after serving a third of their sentence under new government plans to tackle prison overcrowding. The proposals, which replace the current automatic release at 40% of the sentence, require inmates to complete work, training or education assignments and demonstrate good behaviour. Failure to comply could result in longer jail terms.
The changes are part of a package recommended by an independent sentencing review led by former Tory justice secretary David Gauke, commissioned by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood last year amid an overcrowding crisis. The review is expected to be published next week. The existing early-release scheme excludes offenders jailed for sexual offences, terrorism and serious violent crimes carrying more than four years.
Under the proposed model, well-behaved offenders would serve a third in jail, a third on 'enhanced' licence with electronic tags, curfews and passport confiscation, and a final third on normal licence where breaches lead to recall. The plans could extend discounts to some violent offenders, fraudsters, drug dealers and burglars, increasing pressure on the Probation Service. Thousands of criminals would be tagged and released, with concerns over tagging firm Serco, which has been repeatedly fined for failings.
The scheme is modelled on Texas initiatives from 2011, where prisoners earn earlier parole through 'good behaviour' credits from working 9am to 5pm weekdays and maintaining a clean record. In Texas, motivated inmates can get parole after a quarter of their sentence, credited with cutting reoffending and reducing crime to late 1960s levels.
Gauke is also expected to support specialist courts to break addictions of prolific offenders, building on three pilot intensive supervision courts for female offenders in England and Wales. As of Monday, jails held 88,087 inmates, with headroom of 1,355 places. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the government inherited a justice system in crisis and is committed to reforming sentencing to cut crime and keep the public safe.
