Justice secretary David Lammy has pledged to overhaul the prison release system to stop inmates from being freed by accident.
So what? The mistaken release of two sex offenders has thrown a spotlight on a growing trend. Last year 262 prisoners were freed in error, up from 115 in 2023. This compares to the annual average of roughly 50 for the past decade. The increase is the result of
•
overcrowded prisons;
•
overstretched and inexperienced staff; and
•
poor communication between different parts of the justice system.
How it started. On 24 October Ethiopian asylum seeker Hadush Kebatu was mistakenly freed from HMP Chelmsford, leading to a three-day manhunt. The incident attracted national attention because Kebatu had been jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. This offence triggered protests outside the Epping hotel in which he was housed this summer.
Snowball. A few days later HMP Wandsworth accidentally let out Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian sex offender who was serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal. The same prison subsequently released British fraudster William Smith by mistake.
Dysfunction. Kebatu was let go while being transferred to a deportation centre, while Kaddour-Cherif was reportedly released after his arrest warrant was sent to the wrong prison. Smith walked free after a court clerk logged his custodial sentence as a suspended sentence.
Fit to burst. With male jails at 99 per cent capacity, overcrowding is the main reason for the mistakes. The number of people in prison has doubled in the past three decades even though overall crime is falling. Few new spaces have been created to cope with the increase in demand, with the Ministry of Justice experiencing significant cuts under the Conservatives.
Lock ’em up. The prison population has risen partly because of longer sentences for serious offences and the increasing use of custodial sentences for less serious ones.
Traffic jam. A court backlog has also doubled the number of people held on remand. These prisoners, who make up 20 per cent of inmates, are moved frequently between jails and courts, creating the potential for warrants to go missing.
Overstretched. More than half of prison officers have been in their posts for fewer than five years, and stressful working conditions beset by increasing violence mean 13 per cent of guards leave each year. Inexperienced staff must also grapple with complicated sentencing rules.
Computer says go. A malfunctioning digital system introduced to calculate release dates means that staff often have to work out these dates by hand.
Case in point. HMP Wandsworth encapsulates the broader issue. Last year it was operating at 157 per cent capacity and put into special measures after an inspection report called it “crumbling, overcrowded” and “vermin-infested”.
The inspector said wardens were unable to locate where prisoners were during the day and noted there was a high level of churn among inmates, more than half of them held in remand.
Multiplier effect. Early release schemes introduced by Labour and the previous Tory government averted an immediate capacity emergency, but put extra pressure on staff. During last year’s releases, when thousands of prisoners were let out of prisons, dozens of inmates were freed by mistake because their offences were logged under repealed legislation.
Blame game. On Tuesday David Lammy attributed the crisis to Conservative cuts and outlined measures including a performance board and an AI scheme to help staff calculate sentences. He has also ordered an “urgent review” into pre-release checks which should report back soon.
What’s more… New visa rules that raised the salary threshold of foreign workers to £41,700 a year may worsen the prison staffing crisis. Last year more than a fifth of starting officers were from overseas, but salaries start at £33,000.
Photograph by Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images.