Probation and police chiefs warn early release scheme endangers public
Probation officers and police chiefs warn that early release of prisoners could lead to serious offences, while victims' families speak out against the policy.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
The government's early release scheme for prisoners has come under mounting pressure from probation inspectors, police chiefs, and victims' families, who warn that the policy could lead to serious further offences and undermine public safety.
The Chief Inspector of Probation for England and Wales has told the BBC that the early release of thousands of prisoners could result in a serious sexual or violent offence or even murder, because probation staff are already overwhelmed with their workload. He said he was not fully confident that the probation service would be able to cope with the massive workload, and that there was a risk things would go wrong. "Ultimately there will be a small rate of serious reoffending which will result in serious armed victims," he said.
The warning comes as more than 50 police chiefs from across the UK and Northern Ireland signed an open letter to the Prime Minister, urging him to use every legal option to prevent the early release of two of the men convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper. The letter, signed by figures including the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, also called for extra safeguarding measures for the most serious offenders and proper consideration for victims and bereaved families when release arrangements change.
A probation officer who spoke anonymously to the BBC from the north of England said staff were "incredibly overstretched" and described the situation as "pure panic". He warned that the worst outcome would be missed plans and serious further offences, leading to "death under supervision".
The Ministry of Justice defended the policy, saying it had invested a record £700 million into probation, recruited nearly 1,400 new probation officers, and tagged a record number of offenders. It said protecting the public was its top priority.
Channel 4 News spoke to whistleblowers in the probation service who said the early release scheme was "a disaster waiting to happen". They warned that individual officers would be scapegoated when someone was injured or killed. The families of victims also spoke out. Gary and Lesley, whose son Michael was murdered by an offender on licence, said the policy would put thousands of families in the same boat as them. Farah Nas, whose niece Zara Aleena was murdered by a man released on licence, said the probation service had become "the rubbish bin of all systems".
The political debate continued on BBC Two's Newsnight, where former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland rejected Labour's claim that Conservative governments were responsible for the prison capacity crisis, calling it a "long term generational issue". He said the current government had failed to get into the detail of the scheme. The President of the Police Superintendents Association, Nick Smart, told Channel 4 that the situation was "shameful and shambolic" and that the criminal justice system had been neglected for years.
The government has said it is reviewing the scheme and the Prime Minister has expressed confidence that exemptions can be made for the two men involved in PC Harper's killing. A petition against their early release has attracted nearly one million signatures.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Bowers and Jesse Cole, convicted of manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper, were eligible for early release under the government's prison overcrowding scheme. | ||||||||
| Rapists will be banned from early prison release under a new scheme. | · | |||||||
| Prime Minister said the early prisoner release scheme could be reviewed after concerns from PC Harper's family. | · | · | ||||||
| The Prime Minister expressed confidence that prison capacity work will allow a reduction in early release, including for the killers of PC Andrew Harper. | · | · | ||||||
| The chief inspector of probation warned that early release could lead to serious sexual or violent offences or murder. | · | · | · | |||||
| The Prime Minister asked the Justice Secretary to find a way to keep the killers in jail. | · | · | · | |||||
| PC Harper's mother called the potential early release an insult. | · | · | · | · | ||||
| Police chiefs sent a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to block the early release of PC Harper's killers. | · | · | · | · | ||||
| The early release scheme will release 5,000 prisoners from October, down from the originally planned 6,000, after being delayed from September. | · | · | · | · | ||||
| The early release scheme will see hundreds of inmates released early from September, including some convicted of serious sexual offences. | · | · | · | · | ||||
| The early release scheme would have advanced the release date for many prisoners. | · | · | · | · | ||||
| Fifty police chiefs wrote to the Prime Minister urging a rethink of early release plans, citing concerns over public safety and morale. | · | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News focused on the Chief Inspector of Probation's warning and the police chiefs' letter, with a detailed report from senior correspondent Seema Kotecha. It included an anonymous probation officer's account of overstretched staff and the government's response.
- “I'm not fully confident that the probation service will be able to cope with this massive workload and there's a risk that things will go wrong.”
- “We can't cope with this. We've been saying that to anybody who will listen.”
- “The worst that can happen is that things are missed. Plans aren't put into place and we don't give people the level of service they need and that leads to serious further offences.”
5 News gave a brief summary of the police chiefs' letter, focusing on the call for a rethink and the specific case of PC Andrew Harper's killers. It did not include the probation inspector's warning or victim interviews.
- “Fifty police chiefs have written to the Prime Minister calling for a rethink of plans to release some offenders early to make room in overcrowded prisons.”
BBC One West carried the same core report as BBC News but added political analysis from correspondent Joe Pike, who discussed the police chiefs' frustration and the Prime Minister's confidence about preventing the release of PC Harper's killers. It also mentioned the Cobra meeting on wildfires.
- “The Prime Minister's been very clear. He's desperate to try and make sure, and he's increasingly confident those two places will be found and that those exemptions will be made.”
- “The fact they've written this open letter to the Prime Minister really suggests they've been frustrated in recent weeks at the government's handling of all of this.”
Channel 4 provided the most in-depth coverage, including interviews with a prison leaver charity founder, the President of the Police Superintendents Association, and families of victims. It also featured whistleblowers from the probation service and analysis of internal reports showing common failings.
- “It's a disaster waiting to happen.”
- “Uncertainty breeds anxiety, and anxiety can lead people in prison, people leaving prison to do irrational things.”
- “I think it undermines the justice system and I think the public are really quite concerned that this compromises justice within the UK.”
BBC Two's Newsnight focused on the political blame game, featuring a debate between former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland and a Labour representative. It examined whether Conservative governments were responsible for prison overcrowding and criticised the current government's handling of the scheme.
- “No, this is a long term generational issue.”
- “I make no apology for that. I think to pick on that as an issue now and to release that very cohort of prisoners is courting disaster.”
- “No, it does not cut through, especially when we're talking about PC Andrew Harper, who was brutally killed and the people who were convicted for manslaughter may be released early.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.