Police 'concern' over some early prison releases

Thirty-two offenders have been released early in Sussex since September with another 178 people scheduled for release in 2025

Sussex Police has confirmed 32 prisoners have been released across Sussex under the Early Release Scheme.

Another 178 people are scheduled for release in the county between now and the end of 2025.

Chief Constable Jo Shiner said some cases had “given her cause for concern” but "robust systems" were in place to work to prevent reoffending.

The government is releasing some offenders early as part of its ongoing emergency plan to address severe overcrowding in jails.

The 32 prisoners were released in September and October under the first two tranches of the scheme.

Offenders serving longer than five years are being released on licence after serving 40% of their sentence. Those convicted of serious violent crimes, sex offences, or terrorism are excluded from early release.

Mrs Shiner said the number released so far was fewer than the initial estimate of 44.

She said the Integrated Offender Management Team had “gripped it well” and it had had little impact on the service.

But she added: “I don’t think it would be right to say that I don’t have any qualms about the scheme. I think it’s good that we have got really robust management in place.

'Impact on the victims'

"Daily management meetings are in place to keep tabs on those offenders who’ve been released if Sussex Police have intelligence that they may be likely to offend again.

“There are some cases that have given me cause for concern, but because of the robustness of the governance structure we become aware of those very soon.

“We are very aware of what our reoffending rate is amongst those who have been released and we are very good at targeting those that we have information or intelligence about who may be prone to offending and we make sure we tackle that behaviour very quickly."

Mrs Shiner added that it would be "wrong not to acknowledge the impact” early releases have on the victims and some of the witnesses in those cases.

The prison population has been growing by about 4,500 a year - faster than previous governments had built new cells.

Last month Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said that while the prime minister "shares the public's anger" at the scenes of people leaving prison early, "there was no choice not to act".

"If we had not acted, we would have faced a complete paralysis of the system," he added.