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

Record number of offenders being recalled to prison in England and Wales

A prisoner looking out his cell window
The recalled prisoner population more than doubled from about 6,300 in 2018 to 13,500 last year. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Record numbers of offenders are being recalled to prison in England and Wales with union officials claiming that some are deliberately breaking the terms of their probation in order to deal drugs in prison.

Prison sources said that after the implementation of early release schemes, as many as 5,000 men were recalled in December alone – more than a third of the total number released in the year to June 2025.

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