Ministers have been warned that a failure to implement safeguards ahead of a change in the law allowing early release of offenders will put abuse victims at risk. In a rare coordinated intervention, the victims commissioner Claire Waxman and the domestic abuse commissioner Nicole Jacobs have separately written to ministers urging an immediate pause on planned early releases of offenders convicted of crimes against women and girls in England and Wales.
Victims in Panic as Release Letters Arrive
Charities report that a growing number of victims have been thrown into panic, with some installing CCTV for their own protection, after receiving letters informing them that offenders will be released early under the new Sentencing Act from September. The law, designed to combat prison overcrowding amid a decades-long crisis, has drawn criticism from the justice secretary David Lammy and prisons minister James Timpson for breaking promises to ensure safeguards and victim support were in place.
Rape Crisis England & Wales and other charities said support services could be overwhelmed with calls as more victims learn of release dates. Since Labour came to power, more than 38,000 prisoners have been released under emergency measures as prison capacity reached breaking point. Unlike those emergency measures, the sentencing law passed in January includes no exemptions for prisoners convicted of serious crimes, domestic abuse, or terrorism.
Former Minister Raises Concerns
Jess Phillips, who resigned as safeguarding minister in May, said she raised multiple fears about risk analysis before the sentencing bill was put before parliament, but her concerns were not acted on. “They need to halt all releases related to violence against women and girls until they can prove that proper risk assessments are being done in every case,” she said. “Without the correct victim support systems in place, the state is leaving the responsibility of the prisons crisis in victims’ hands. That cannot be right.”
Commissioners Say Promises Broken
Claire Waxman and Nicole Jacobs said they had been given “specific reassurances” before the bill was passed that were still not in place. Waxman stated: “I was repeatedly told that victims would be properly informed and reassured that measures would be put in place to keep them safe. What is abundantly clear now is that communication with victims, safeguarding and support has been an afterthought.”
Writing to the justice secretary and prisons minister, Jacobs noted that a dedicated helpline for victims promised in the Victims and Courts Act had not even begun planning. Other promised safeguards included thorough checks before release and support services being given a full picture of perpetrator risk and management. “These were not vague commitments, they were the conditions on which this scheme was deemed acceptable to alleviate the capacity crisis and protect public safety,” Jacobs wrote. “To date, none of them have been met.”
Victims Feel Betrayed
In a letter to Lord Timpson, Waxman wrote: “I do not have confidence that offenders’ risk will be adequately assessed, that victims’ safety will be addressed, or that probation is in a position to manage this volume of offenders in the community.” She said letters sent to victims had been “disastrous for trust and confidence in the justice system,” with many expressing “shock, anxiety, anger and confusion.” “They feel betrayed by the justice system and insulted at the way in which the communication has been handled,” she added.
One victim of non-recent child sexual abuse told Waxman she had bought CCTV for her own protection after receiving the letter, saying: “I don’t trust the government to keep me safe any more.” Another woman told the Guardian that the man who raped her breached a non-molestation order 26 times during the five years it took for her case to get to trial. “He will now potentially spend less time in prison than the time it took to get to court, but I got a life sentence,” she said. “The victims are forgotten and the justice system is broken.”
Political Responses and New System Details
The Conservatives met victims of grooming gangs on Tuesday and forced a non-binding opposition day motion demanding the new Sentencing Act be rewritten to strip rapists, paedophiles, and grooming gang members of the right to release after serving half of their sentence rather than two-thirds. Jade Belgrove, who waived her anonymity as a child rape survivor, said she was “petrified for the women who have been through this.” Her petition calling for a stop to the early release of sexual offenders has more than 62,000 signatures.
Under the new system, prisoners serving sentences for less serious crimes can be freed after serving a third of their sentence instead of 40%. Prisoners locked up for some violent or sexual offences are eligible for release halfway through their sentences rather than two-thirds.
Government Response
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said public safety and victim support was its “top priority.” Ministers have stated that a £700m investment in probation by 2028 will lead to the biggest expansion of tagging in history, with offenders facing strict licence conditions, closer supervision, exclusion zones, and curfews. They said £550m was being invested in victim support services, and work to put in place a new victim helpline was continuing.
A spokesperson said: “This government is fixing the prison crisis it inherited – building 14,000 more prison places and reforming sentencing so we can always lock up dangerous criminals. Without this decisive action, prisons will run out of space entirely as early as November and we will be unable to lock up serious offenders at all.”
Amelia Handy, head of policy at Rape Crisis England & Wales, said: “Many of the women and girls we support have waited years for their cases to get to court and sentencing is already very rarely representative of the harm caused. For victims and survivors to be told their abusers will serve even less time in prison feels unjust and unfair.”
