Prisoners whose release has been blocked by the Parole Board will be let out of jail under Labour’s latest soft justice measures, the victims’ watchdog has warned.
Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove said she was ‘genuinely struggling to understand’ why Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is poised to free potentially-dangerous criminals.
Some of those to be released in the early stages of the scheme will have already been blocked from winning parole on ‘public protection’ grounds, the commissioner said.
Ms Mahmood announced yesterday she will introduce a standard 28-day ‘recall’ period for released prisoners who have been locked up again for breaking the rules.
Currently, freed lags can be kept behind bars for the rest of their sentence if they are caught re-offending or breaching the terms of their release ‘on licence’.
Baroness Newlove’s intervention came as Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick accused Labour of putting ‘the public in danger and victims in jeopardy’ with its new measures.
The commissioner said in an official letter to Ms Mahmood: ‘Many of the offenders whose recalls will now be converted to fixed term will already have had their cases considered by the Parole Board – and not been directed for release.
Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove said she was ‘genuinely struggling to understand’ why Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is poised to free potentially-dangerous criminals
‘In each case, the board will have applied the public protection test and concluded that it remained necessary to keep the individual in custody to protect the public.’
Offenders who will benefit include those serving time for sexual and violent offences, and ‘many’ who have committed multiple crimes, Baroness Newlove said.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a fixed-term period of just 28 days behind bars for most prisoners who are ‘recalled’ to jail after being released
The commissioner, who was first appointed six years after her husband Garry was murdered by a gang of youths in 2007, went on: ‘By virtue of being recalled, they will have demonstrated poor levels of compliance with community supervision.
‘In short, we are re-releasing a group of offenders assessed as high risk and with a track record of poor compliance.’
Baroness Newlove said she was ‘genuinely struggling to understand why this specific group of offenders has been targeted for early release’ and added she was ‘very concerned about the implications for both victim and wider public safety’.
Labour’s new measures will free up 1,400 spaces in the jails amid a long-running overcrowding crisis.
Thousands of recalled prisoners will benefit from the measures over time.
Officials said if no action were taken the jails would run out of space by November.
Mr Jenrick accused Ms Mahmood of ‘deliberately concealing’ key details of the measures, which are due to be published in full next week.
He told the Commons: ‘She’s decided to let out early criminals who reoffend or breach their licence.
‘There is now no punishment or deterrent for criminals who immediately reoffend, or cheat the system.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood inspects the new HMP Millsike, near York, in March
‘There is no two ways about it. This decision has put the public in danger and victims in jeopardy.’
In a hastily-arranged Downing Street press conference yesterday Ms Mahmood said the prisons crisis risked leaving police unable to make arrests and a ‘total breakdown of law and order’.
She repeated doom-laden warnings she first deployed last summer when she introduced a scheme allowing most inmates to be freed after serving just 40 per cent of their sentences, and which led to lags popping champagne corks outside the prison gates.
There were 13,600 recalled prisoners behind bars in March. About a fifth, on average, have been sent back to jail because they have committed fresh crimes.
Ms Mahmood said the 28-day recall period will apply to criminals serving sentences of between one and four years.
Offenders who are recalled for committing a serious further offence – such as terrorism or a murder, sex crime, or serious assault – will be excluded from the scheme, along with any considered dangerous enough to face extra scrutiny on release.
The Ministry of Justice has been approached for comment on Baroness Newlove’s letter.
