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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Rajeev Syal Home affairs editor

Police ‘left to deal with fallout’ of poorly planned early release of 1,700 prisoners

people carrying plastic bags of belongings in front of HMP Pentonville
The justice secretary announced plans in July to temporarily cut the proportion of sentences which inmates must serve behind bars from 50% to 40% amid overcrowding. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

Police are at “the centre of a storm” caused by poor planning after 1,700 prisoners were released early across England and Wales to ease overcrowding, a senior officer has said.

Amid concerns that hundreds of inmates could end up homeless or return to crime, the president of the Police Superintendents’ Association, Nick Smart, said some inmates were being set free without a programme and that the police would be left to deal with the consequences.

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