Criminal Law

In a statement to the House of Commons, the minister announced that the government is taking urgent action to address the crisis in the prison system. The male prison estate has been operating at around 99% capacity for the past 18 months, and the minister warned that if no action is taken, the system will reach full capacity by September, leading to a complete breakdown of the justice system. The minister explained that the government has explored all available options, but due to the lack of time, they are unable to build more prisons, add more prison blocks, or secure existing sites to hold offenders. While the government is deporting foreign national offenders as quickly as legally possible and working to address the remand population, these measures are not enough to address the immediate crisis. As a result, the government is proposing a statutory instrument that will change the law to adjust the automatic release point for prisoners serving eligible standard determinate sentences from 50% to 40% of their sentence. This will result in the early release of around 5,500 offenders in two tranches in September and October, who will then serve the remainder of their sentence under strict licence conditions in the community. The minister outlined the details of the legislation, including that it applies to both male and female offenders, as well as those serving sentences under section 250 of the Sentencing Act 2020 and those in the youth estate. However, the measure excludes the worst violent and sexual crimes, as well as certain other offences related to domestic abuse, national security, and terrorism. The minister emphasized that this decision was not taken lightly, as the government must balance the need to address the crisis in the prison system with the need to protect the public. The minister warned that if no action is taken, the nightmare scenario of criminals being free to act without consequence will become a reality, putting the public at risk.