VICTIMS have been left in the dark and not told that their perpetrators are being let out of prison as part of the Government’s early release scheme.
As an estimated 1,700 prisoners are being let free tomorrow, charities and government advisors have warned that victims, many of which are women and girls, will pay the price for failures in the justice system.
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In an effort to free up space in overcrowded jails, many inmates will now only have to serve 40 per cent of their sentences behind bars, down from the usual 50 per cent.
Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove said the early releases are “distressing for many victims who rightfully expect offenders will serve the sentence handed down by the court”.
Baroness Newlove said: “From the beginning, I sought assurances that all impacted victims would be informed of any early release dates, affording them the opportunity to request protective measures.
“I understand this has not been possible in every case, leaving some victims unaware of their offender’s early release. While I recognise the challenges in reaching certain groups of victims, this is regrettable and must be addressed.
“As Victims’ Commissioner, I am concerned about the impact of these early releases on victims’ confidence in our justice system. It is essential that transparency and rigorous oversight guide our approach. Victim safety must remain the absolute priority.
“We now owe it to victims to ensure we swiftly steer our justice system towards more sustainable footing.”
Isabelle Younane, head of external affairs at Women’s Aid, said: “We recognise that overcrowding is a serious issue that the Government needs to take urgent action to address, however, Women’s Aid is concerned that the policy is coming at the price of safety for women and children.”
She added: “The early release of perpetrators will have a detrimental impact on both the physical safety and mental wellbeing of survivors, who have been able to live in safety and begun to rebuild their lives free from fear while their abuser was in prison.
“The early release scheme relies heavily on an already overstretched and struggling probation service, and we fear that the release of such high volumes of prisoners at once will push them to breaking point.”
Released offender killed Zara
By Joe Hadden
SOME of Britain’s worst criminals were released from prison only to reoffend.
Jordan McSweeney, 31, had been free for nine days in 2022 when he sexually assaulted and murdered 35-year-old law graduate Zara Aleena.
He had already served nine terms for crimes including burglary and theft.
Zara’s aunt Faraz Nah said: “She would be alive if probation did their jobs better.”
Thief Joseph McCann raped 11 women and children — two months after his release.
Freed terror plotter Usman Khan killed two people in the London Bridge knife attack in 2019.
Downing Street acknowledged it was “incredibly difficult” for victims to know that the offenders were being released before completing their sentence.
They argued that the estimated 1,700 inmates expected to be set free today must be released to avoid “unchecked criminality”.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: “As the Prime Minister said this weekend, no prime minister should be in a position where there are not enough prison places.
“That is why we took the immediate decision that we did. And without doing so, prisons would have completely run out of places, and we faced unchecked criminality on our streets with police unable to make arrests.”
