Prisoners welcome early release – but some fear being sent straight back to jail

Published

2 months ago

September 10, 2024

admin

Prisoners have welcomed their early release but some fear it won’t be long before they’re back behind bars.

Around 1,750 people were expected to be let out on Tuesday in a bid to ease overcrowding amid warnings the scheme could be “risky” and it is “inevitable” some will reoffend.

The government has said the policy to free prisoners before they have served half of their sentences had to be brought in to avoid a “total collapse of the criminal justice system”.

Outside Brixton prison, in south London, a 26-year-old man, released after serving 17 months, or 40%, of his sentence for grievous bodily harm, said he hopes to find work having completed a painting and decorating course on the inside.

“You have to rehabilitate yourself in there. I did that,” the man, who didn’t want to be named, told Sky News.

“You’ve got to try to use all the things you can in there to better yourself, but you don’t get encouraged to, necessarily, and a lot of the time in there bad behaviour gets encouraged.”

Others coming out of the Category C prison were less optimistic about their prospects on the outside.

Damian Jones, 40, said he was “happy” to be freed after serving five months of his one-year sentence for actual bodily harm.

‘Could be risky’

But he agreed it “could be risky” to release violent offenders early and believes the conditions of his release, such as an alcohol tag, will see him being recalled to prison.

“I just feel like I’ll come straight back, to be honest with you, because they’ve hit me with all these conditions,” he said.

“I don’t think I’ll reoffend in terms of committing crime but getting recalled, 99% yeah.”

Like others being released, he complained of the overcrowding, with every cell full, and conditions inside the prison, including bits falling off the wall, broken toilets and thin mattresses.

‘It doesn’t work’

Mark Burke, 52, from Dublin, said he has been “in and out of prison” and “it doesn’t work”.

He said he was a “bit anxious” as he was released about three months into his 32-week sentence for shoplifting “high-value goods”.

Burke said some prisoners are deliberately committing acts of violence behind bars to get put in a single cell but praised the drug-free wing, which he said had helped him.

“Will I be back? I hope not, but you can’t say, can you?” he said.

‘They’re just going to reoffend’

For many, finding somewhere to live is also a concern and crucial to staying out of trouble.

One woman being released from Send prison, in Surrey, told Sky’s Molly Malone: “Obviously I’m grateful to get out early, but I was worried about housing, more than anything. And that’s still a concern for me today as I leave the prison.”

She said she doesn’t have anywhere to live because she’s leaving earlier than planned and the accommodation that had been in place for her isn’t available.

She said she’s turned her life around, from a drug addict to drug worker, but is worried about her prospects without a stable home.

“People in prison, if they’re not housed, they’re just going to reoffend,” she said. “Then it’s going to be the same thing over and over.”

UK

Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Published

33 mins ago

November 23, 2024

admin

Gatwick Airport: Police release two people who were detained amid security incident as South Terminal reopens

Two people detained during a security incident at Gatwick Airport have been allowed to continue their journeys after a suspect package saw a “large part” of the South Terminal evacuated.

The terminal was closed for hours after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item” in a passenger’s luggage sparked an emergency response. It reopened at around 3.45pm.

Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team “made the package safe” before handing the airport back to its operator, Sussex Police said.

Their statement continued: “Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys.

“There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel.”

The force also thanked the public and airport staff for their patience while the incident was ongoing.

Earlier the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.

“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it later said in a statement on Friday afternoon.

“The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”

Gatwick said some flights were cancelled while others were delayed.

It said passengers should contact their airlines for any updates on flights.

Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.

“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.

“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down,” another passenger added, who said “thousands” of people were forced to leave.

Another passenger said people near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.

People outside the airport were handed blankets and water, passengers told Sky News.

The airport said its North Terminal was still operating normally.

Gatwick Express said its trains did not call at Gatwick Airport during the police response, but the airport said trains would start calling there again once the terminal was fully reopened.

More than 600 flights were due to take off or land at Gatwick on Friday, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

UK

Starmer says UK will ‘set out a path’ to raise defence spending to 2.5%

Published

4 hours ago

November 23, 2024

admin

Starmer says UK will 'set out a path' to raise defence spending to 2.5%

The UK will “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.

Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.

There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.

Ukraine war latest: Follow live updates

A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.

They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.

“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.

“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”

The defence review will also be published in the spring.

While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.

They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.