Victim Support has called on the government to ensure every victim of crime can find out if the person who wronged them is being released early, warning that the current system leaves the vast majority in the dark.
Charity Demands Universal Notification
Katie Kempen, Chief Executive of Victim Support, expressed alarm that only a fraction of those affected by the early release scheme will be notified. She stated: “Victims and survivors must not be an afterthought in efforts to tackle the prison overcrowding crisis - they should be the Government’s priority. Having already shown extraordinary perseverance and resilience to endure painfully long waits for justice, many will feel shocked and frightened to learn that offenders may now be released months or even years earlier than expected.”
She added: “It is completely unacceptable that, for the vast majority, there is no way to even find out if or how they are affected. No victim should be left in the dark. Every single person affected by these changes should be able to quickly and easily find out how their offender's sentence has changed and what it means for them.”
Current Victim Contact Scheme Limitations
Currently, only victims of violent and sexual offences where the sentence is a year or more are eligible for the Victim Contact Scheme (VCS), which allows them to be notified of changes to the offender's sentence. However, Ministry of Justice (MOJ) statistics show that 58% of criminals given an immediate jail term are sentenced to less than a year, meaning most victims cannot access this information.
Victim Support warns that the inability to find out about early release could undermine faith in the justice system. The charity has urged the government to extend the scheme so that all victims can find out if a sentence has changed and what it means for them.
Government Response and Early Release Rules
The Ministry of Justice stated that early release has been introduced to prevent prisons from running out of space by November. Under new rules, eligible prisoners can be released after serving 33% of their sentence if they meet conditions. For inmates serving over four years for violent or sexual offences, the earliest release date has been brought forward to 50%.
An MOJ 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.”
The spokesperson added: “Public safety and supporting victims is our top priority. Offenders who a judge has deemed the most dangerous are automatically blocked from early release, and prisoners who behave badly while behind bars face being locked up for longer. Anyone who is released faces tough rules such as restrictions on their movements, tagging, being banned from attending public events, pubs and clubs, backed by our record £700m investment into probation and 1,300 extra probation officers.”
Government Commitments
Ministers are understood to be committed to delivering a service that provides victims with a clear route to request information about an offender's release. Meetings have been held with victim support organisations recently, and the government has pledged to continue working with them to improve the system.
