Labour's plan to limit prison recall periods to just 28 days has sparked fierce criticism with accusations of endangering the public by releasing potentially dangerous offenders.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the measure yesterday, which will see offenders serving one to four year sentences held for a fixed period if they breach licence conditions after release.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has blasted the proposal, claiming it will "put the public in danger and victims in jeopardy". The Victims' Commissioner has also expressed serious concerns about the impact on public safety.
Under the new measures, prisoners who have been released after serving their minimum term but are then recalled for breaching licence conditions, such as missing curfews, will face a fixed 28-day detention period rather than waiting for the Parole Board to decide on their re-release.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has come under criticism
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The Government estimates the plan will free up around 1,400 prison places in England and Wales, buying ministers time ahead of a wider sentencing review led by former Conservative Minister David Gauke.
Baroness Newlove of Warrington, the Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales, has written a scathing letter to the Justice Secretary expressing deep concerns about the plan, warning that many affected prisoners will have already been denied release by the Parole Board on public safety grounds.
"I am genuinely struggling to understand why this specific group of offenders has been targeted for early release," she wrote.
"In short, we are re-releasing a group of offenders assessed as high risk and with a track record of poor compliance," Baroness Newlove stated, adding she was "very concerned about the implications for both victim and wider public safety."
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Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has hit out at the 'shameful' capacity crisis in England and Wales' prisonsPAJenrick launched a blistering attack on the Government's plans in the Commons, accusing Mahmood of "deliberately concealing" key details of the measures.
"She's decided to let out early criminals who reoffend or breach their licence," he told MPs. "There is now no punishment or deterrent for criminals who immediately reoffend, or cheat the system."
Jenrick declared it's "only a matter of time" before these criminals strike again, adding: "Sick domestic abusers and prisoners so menacing that the parole board kept them behind bars will now be released."
Former Tory Minister Sir Desmond Swayne also accused Labour of giving domestic abusers the chance to "give another twist to the knife".
The prison system is currently at 99 per cent capacity, with 88,087 inmates in a system with useable operational capacity of 89,442.
Justice Minister Sir Nic Dakin told the Commons the changes were necessary to avoid a "managed breakdown of the criminal justice system".
Mahmood warned at her Downing Street press conference that the crisis risked leaving police unable to make arrests and could lead to a "total breakdown of law and order".
This follows Labour's previous early release scheme implemented last year, which allowed qualifying prisoners to be released after serving 40 per cent rather than 50 per cent of their sentences.
