UK’s new justice secretary set to outline emergency measures to relieve prison overcrowding
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new justice secretary is set to outline emergency plans Friday to relieve prison overcrowding, including the early release of thousands of prisoners.
Shabana Mahmood, who took over after Labour’s election victory earlier his month, is expected to argue that the level of overcrowding requires immediate action to pull the justice system from brink of breakdown. The short-term fix could include reducing the amount of time a prisoner must serve before being automatically released.
Prison officials want to keep about 1,425 cell spaces free in men’s prisons at all times to make sure there is enough space to hold sudden influxes of inmates. But Britain’s Press Association, citing sources, said that only 700 are now free.
The expected plans to release prisoners early is “the least worst option,’’ said the head of London’s police force, Mark Rowley.
“Prisons are very, very close to full and filling up day in day out,’’ he told ITV. “The worst possible thing would be for the system to block, because the system blocks in prisons if they get completely full. That kicks back into the courts and into what we do. And that’s really dangerous for the public.’’