The release of about 1,750 offenders has commenced earlier than expected, despite concerns of the potential danger to communities and a furious reaction from an outraged public.
The UK government’s plan has been to release around 1,000 prisoners early per week with the latest being 1,700 and the next to be 2,000. The prisoners in question are inside for mostly drug-related offences and theft. Assurances have been made that violent offenders will not be included in the early-release plan. This action is being taken to alleviate overcrowding in the nation’s prisons, with the government stating that there was no alternative and not releasing them from the already overflowing prisons would have lead to a complete breakdown of the criminal justice system.
UK government turns attention to rehousing ex-cons
With the mass release of prisoners already underway, politicians have shifted their focus to post-release reintegration efforts. Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, said on Tuesday that budget hotels will be taken over to provide early ex-con accommodation, while London mayor, Sadiq Khan is promoting the idea for a ‘frank discussion’ on prioritising housing for certain prisoners to dissuade them from reoffending.
Many are outraged at what they see as ‘queue jumping’ on council housing waiting lists, while more law-abiding citizens have to wait years for somewhere affordable to live. The thinking behind the government’s decision is to temporarily house prisoners to tackle the initial economic impediments they have and thus reduce the risk of them reoffending. Currently, according to government statistics, over 25% of released prisoners reoffend.
Rehousing released prisoners cheaper than jail
The government claims that rehousing ex-prisoners reduces the possibility of them reoffending by 50%. The yearly cost of keeping someone in jail is £52,000, according to Campbell Robb, head of the charity NACRO who work to rehouse ex convicts. Currently, the average annual rent is around £16,000. Nonetheless, the announcement from the government to rehouse and pay the rent of convicts without countering the housing crisis, has been met with fury across the UK.
