Britain to Release Thousands of Prisoners to Alleviate Overcrowding in Prisons

The Justice Minister in the new British government announced that to avoid the 'collapse' of the country's prison system, thousands of prisoners will be released early starting in September. Shabaneh Mahmoud stated on Friday, July 13, that 'since 2023, 99% of the prison capacity in the country has been full, with only 700 places left for male prisoners. If we do not take this action, law and order will be at risk.' England and Wales have the highest per capita incarceration rate in Western Europe. The early release plan excludes violent offenders serving sentences longer than four years, life sentences, sex offenders, and those convicted of domestic violence. Charles Taylor, the Chief Inspector of Prisons in Britain, recently warned that the prison system is 'on the brink of collapse' and urgent action is needed. Shabaneh Mahmoud, who was appointed as Justice Minister following the Labour Party's victory in last week's elections, warned that if there are no places left to incarcerate criminals, the country will become a haven for criminals. He added in his remarks at one of England's prisons: 'If police officers cannot arrest anyone, criminals will do whatever they want without fear of punishment. If we do not act now, we will face the risk of the collapse of the criminal justice system and the disintegration of law and order.' Prisoners eligible for early release will be released after serving half of their sentence. Additionally, the legal threshold for serving time will temporarily be reduced from 50% to 40% of the sentence. The implementation of this plan will begin in September to allow the prison administration and the management of sentence reduction and pardons to prepare for its execution. Government statistics released on Friday show that the number of prisoners in Britain has reached a record low of 87,500, with approximately 84,000 being male prisoners. Currently, British prisons have only 1,450 vacant places. According to the British Ministry of Justice, since the beginning of 2023, the average number of prisoners in male prisons has been 'over 99% of their capacity.' Justice Ministry officials stated that to maintain readiness in case of a sudden increase in the number of prisoners, it is essential to have at least 1,425 empty cells in the country's prisons. In recent years, the construction of six new prisons with a capacity of about 20,000 has begun. The union of prison managers and staff in Britain welcomed the Justice Minister's remarks regarding the swift implementation of these measures but also called for a 'comprehensive review' to prevent a recurrence of this situation. The head of this union told reporters that the new government's plan would create about 4,500 to 5,000 vacancies, giving the country's prisons about one to one and a half years to prepare for necessary subsequent actions.