Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has declared it 'completely unacceptable' that the number of prisoners being mistakenly released has increased under the Labour government, as she confirmed four wrongly freed inmates are still at large.
A Deteriorating Situation
Speaking on Sky News, Nandy revealed that England and Wales are now seeing an average of 22 wrongful prisoner releases each month. This marks a significant rise from the average of 17 such incidents that occurred over a large period of the previous administration.
Nandy stated unequivocally that the situation was unacceptable before and remains so now, emphasising that 'even one is too many'.
An Antiquated System and a Broken Inheritance
The minister attributed part of the problem to an 'antiquated' paper-based system still in use within the Prison Service, which was developed in the 1980s. She asserted that the Labour government, upon winning the general election last year, inherited a broken prison system that was nearly full to capacity.
In response to the crisis, Justice Secretary David Lammy has appointed Dame Lynne Owens, the former director of the National Crime Agency, to lead the efforts to resolve the issue.
Calls for Systemic Overhaul
The government's plan to 'grip' the prison crisis involves a three-pronged approach:
- Replacing the outdated paper-based system.
- Building new prisons to alleviate overcrowding.
- Implementing additional checks to prevent future errors.
The Prison Officers' Association (POA) has backed the need for fundamental change, calling for an 'entire overhaul' of the sentencing calculation and discharge process. The POA has also warned the justice secretary against blaming individual officers for what it characterises as systemic failures.
This ongoing crisis, highlighted by concerns over overcrowding and poor security at institutions like HMP Wandsworth, places significant pressure on the new government to deliver swift and effective reforms to the UK's prison system.
