UK frees 26,000 prisoners early because of lack of jail space
(MENAFN) The UK government has released over 26,000 inmates, including some serving long-term sentences, in an effort to alleviate overcrowding in the country’s jails, the Daily Mail reported, citing official data. Among those freed between September 2024 and March 2025 were 248 convicts sentenced to 14 years or more for serious crimes. While most were British citizens, more than 2,600 were foreign nationals.
Under the program, which allows prisoners to be released after serving 40% of their sentence, an average of 3,461 inmates leave custody each month. If this pace continues, the total number of releases could reach 45,000 within the first year. Some prisoners expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and pledged political support, though a few reportedly reoffended shortly after release.
A Justice Ministry spokesperson explained the initiative was necessary to prevent prison overcrowding and ensure police could continue making arrests, noting plans to expand capacity by 14,000 places and reform sentencing. Critics, including Tory spokesman Robert Jenrick, decried the scheme as “shocking” and indicative of a rise in lawlessness, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warned of a 50% increase in crime since the 1990s. Recent data highlights an 87% rise in knife crime in England and Wales over the past decade, with nearly 55,000 incidents in 2024, and a July study found that 39% of all mobile phone thefts in Europe now occur in the UK.
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