Top cop 'worried' by impact of early prison releases

Mr Hogg (right) appeared at the meeting alongside Matthew Barber, the Thames Valley's police and crime commissioner

A chief constable said he is “really worried” about the impact a planned release of thousands of prisoners might have on his region.

From September, some prisoners will be released after they have served 40% of their sentence in England and Wales, rather than the current 50%.

Jason Hogg, Thames Valley Police’s chief constable, said the Labour government’s plan was the “right decision” but that it will mean extra “demand coming down the road” for his officers.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) estimated that up to 4,000 extra men and fewer than 1,000 women will be released under the new measure over the next 18 months.

Those jailed for four years or more for serious violent offences and sex offenders will be automatically excluded from the early release scheme.

Mr Hogg said his force was working closely with the government ahead of the plan’s rollout.

Mr Hogg said he anticipates “real demand locally” as a result of the scheme

“The decision by the government is the right decision to release people early – there is no other option and any government would have made exactly the same decision, I think.

“The reason for that is unless we put fewer people into prisons, you bring the criminal justice system to a halt," Mr Hogg told Oxfordshire County Council’s annual crime and disorder meeting on 24 July.

"So effectively we can’t arrest people, remand them and the courts – we’ve talked about it taking two years to get to crown court – can’t sit because there’s nowhere to put them."

Other domestic abuse-related offenders, including those jailed for stalking and choking, will also be excluded from the early release scheme.

Ministry of Justice data showed the total England and Wales prison population in mid-July was 87,505, close to the record high of 88,000 in 2011.

“Fundamentally the reoffending rate from prisons is really high. [Of] those who leave prisons having spent more than a year [inside], the reoffending rate is 56%,” Mr Hogg added.

He said there will be “real demand locally” as a result of the imminent releases.

New prisons minister James Timpson previously stressed the need to break the cycle of re-offending by giving ex-offenders more job opportunities, something his family firm Timpson has done.