By james art The move is likely to have contributed to a sharp increase this year in the number of offenders returned to custody for breaching their release conditions.
Some 13,325 prisoners were released early between October 17, 2023 and September 9, 2024, according to figures released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
The scheme, known as the Controlled End of Custody License (ECSL), lasted for several months after the Conservatives lost the general election in July this year, until it was replaced in September by a separate early release program introduced by the new Labor government.
Just over a quarter (26%) of those released under the ECSL scheme were found guilty of an offense classed as violence against the person, a similar proportion (26%) were convicted of a theft offence, while almost one in seven (15%) were were in prison for drug-related crimes.
Prisoners serving a sex crime sentence are not released.
The scheme initially allowed prisoners in certain prisons to be released a maximum of 18 days early, but this was increased in March 2024 to a maximum of 35 days and then again in May to a maximum of 70 days.
Separate figures released on Thursday showed there were 9,782 calls into custody from April to June 2024 of offenders who breached their release conditions, up 44% from 6,814 in the equivalent period in 2023 .
This “sharp rise” in quarterly withdrawals “is likely to be linked to the increase in exemptions” following the introduction of the ECSL scheme in October 2023, the Ministry of Justice said.
There can be more than one reason for an offender’s license to be revoked – for example, of the 9,782 revocations in the three months to June 2024, 77% involved non-compliance, 36% involved failure to keep in touch and 24% involved an allegation of further a crime.
The figures also show that the total number of prisoners in England and Wales returned to custody for breaching their release conditions stood at 12,579 on 30 September 2024, up 5% year-on-year and “a record high” for the end of the calendar month, the MP added.
Of the 13,325 prisoners released early under the ECSL scheme, 35% had served a sentence of six months or less, while 16% had a sentence of between six and 12 months, according to an analysis by the PA news agency.
This means that just over half of those released (51%) had a prison sentence of less than a year.
Another 16% had a sentence of 12 months to less than two years, 18% had a sentence of two years to less than four years, and 14% had served sentences of four years or more.
HMP Liverpool accounted for the highest number of prisoners released (402), followed by HMP Altcourse in Merseyside (396), HMP Cardiff (386) and HMP Humber (339).