Chief prisons inspector warns of ‘revolving door’ as around 1,750 inmates are set for early release
The chief inspector of prisons for England and Wales has warned that today’s early release of around 1,750 offenders is going to be “risky”.
It is being done to create space in the country’s overcrowded prisons and the government insists the alternative was “unthinkable” and would have led to a “total collapse of the criminal justice system”.
But HMP Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor told Sky News: “It’s a risky time with so many prisoners coming out at the same time. Normally, there are about 1,000 prisoners coming out a week. Most of those 1,000 prisoners will still come out this week. But on top of that, we’ve got 1,700 other prisoners, and then in October, we have another tranche of around 2,000 coming out as well, inevitably, that puts some risks into local communities and greater strain on already stretched probation services.”
Justifying the decision, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “We inherited a prison system on the point of collapse. This is not a change we wanted to make – it was the only option left on the table because the alternative would have seen a total collapse of the criminal justice system.
“We would have seen the breakdown of law and order because courts would not have been able to conduct trials, and the police would not have been able to make arrests.”
Early release will not apply to sexual offences, serious violence and terrorism offences and some cases relating to domestic abuse. The government says it announced the decision as early as possible to give probation services time to prepare.
The mass release coincides with a damning report from the chief inspector which describes a “devastating picture” of life behind bars with “a surge in illicit drug use, self-harm and violence”.
Out of 32 inspected prisons 30 were “poor or insufficiently good” and 60% were overcrowded.
It found that often planned releases were underfunded. At Bedford Prison 30% of those leaving jail had nowhere to live.
Former HMP Parc inmate Zack Griffiths said drugs came into the prison via corrupt officers
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Mr Taylor said: “Unless we make sure that people are kept in decent conditions and that they’re doing the work they need to do in order to go out and be successful when they leave prison, then the danger is we end up, as we see in so many cases, that prisoners are simply a revolving door; untreated mental health problems, untreated drug users, people with nowhere to live when they come out, and that just creates more victims of crime, more mayhem in communities and a prison population that is now almost unmanageable.”
His report says the previous government’s early release scheme lessened some pressures temporarily, but did not solve the problem.
Campaigners say that overcrowding is fatal for some prisoners and that overcrowded jails along with staff shortages, mean that inmates are at greater risk of drug addiction and self-harm.
Earlier this year there were 10 deaths in just three months in Parc prison in Bridgend.
A number are thought to be related to synthetic drugs such as spice and nitazines.
Self-harm also doubled in the prison in the last year from 1,088 recorded incidents to 2,330.
26-year-old Ryan Harding was two months from being released from Parc prison when he died of an apparent overdose in January last year.
Ryan Harding died in prison
He’d not been known to use hard drugs, but his mother Catherine Harding says an ombudsman report found synthetic drugs were in his system.
Ms Harding blames the prison for his death saying her son was more vulnerable because he wasn’t getting enough of his medication for epilepsy, and she believes prison officers were among those bringing drugs onto the blocks.
She told Sky News: “I know there were drugs going in there and it wasn’t the prisoners taking them in, or the visitors, it was the prison officers – there’s no other explanation.”
Read more:
Prison population hits record high
Judges told to push back sentencing amid prison overcrowding crisis
Only 100 spaces left in male prisons amid ongoing crisis
Catherine Harding’s son died of an apparent overdose in HMP Parc
HMP Parc is privately run by G4S.
A G4S spokesperson said: “We send our condolences to Ms Harding and the families who have lost loved ones.
“The vast majority of our staff are honest and hardworking, but, in common with other prisons, we face the challenge of criminal behaviour from a small minority.”
The prison can’t comment on Mr Harding’s case because of an ongoing investigation.
There has been a recent case of corruption at the prison.
In August this year Parc prison officer Jodie Beer, 30, was jailed for six years for attempting to smuggle drugs to an inmate concealed in orange juice cartons.
Jodie Beer was jailed following an investigation by Tarian, the southern Wales regional organised crime unit Pic: Tarian
Zack Griffiths, 32, who was in HMP Parc last year for drug offences set up a campaign group called HMP Prisons Justice Group UK.
He said drugs came into Parc prison through corrupt officers, but also drones were being flown up to some of the windows on certain blocks.
He added: “Very often these drugs are be mixed with very potent synthetic opiates. If you’re not a chemist, how would you know or mixtures you give to people? How do you know what the tolerance levels of the person who’s going to take the drugs are? That’s how people end up dead.”
Zack Griffiths says ‘unstable’ inmates are set for release
He says some prisoners are locked up in their cells for up to 23 hours a day and this makes them vulnerable to drug addiction.
He told Sky News: “What we’re talking about here is placing the public at harm, because these people are not being rehabilitated. Inmates are going to come back out onto the streets in your towns, villages and cities, and I consider them to be a higher risk because they’re using drugs, they’re unstable.”
Parc Prison insists it offers a good rehabilitation programme and told Sky News: “We hold a complex cohort of prisoners, many with mental health and substance misuse issues. We are committed to supporting men through our multidisciplinary team of prison and NHS staff.”
Some inmates at Parc will be among the hundreds being released today from prisons across England and Wales.
But with prison recalls already on the rise, it is perhaps inevitable that some will reoffend or breach their bail conditions and find themselves back behind bars.
UK
Parents of boy whose outbursts left them fearing for their lives say Adolescence ‘touched a nerve’
A teenager suddenly becomes violent, his anger towards women fuelled by online influencers, while his parents struggle to process what their son is capable of.
Does this sound familiar?
It’s the story of the hit drama Adolescence – but for Jess and Rob, it’s their life.
Their 14-year-old son Harry’s violence has escalated so rapidly he’s had to be taken into care. We’ve changed all their names to protect their identities.
Until the age of 12, Harry’s parents say he was a “wonderful” son. But they saw a change in his personality, which they believe was sparked by an incident when he was hit by a girl. Soon, he developed an online interest in masculine power and control.
Harry’s personality changed after he was assaulted (this image shows an actor in a Sky News reconstruction)
“Harry became obsessed with being strong, and I think he developed a difficulty around certain female people because of the assault,” Jess says.
“He had to be in charge… in every setting,” Rob adds.
Then one night, he punched his mother, Jess. His parents called the police in the hope it would shock him out of doing it again. But, as time went on, the violence escalated.
“We probably must have called the police over 100 times,” Rob says.
One attack was so serious, Jess ended up in hospital. The violence spilled outside the home too as Harry assaulted neighbours and friends.
Then he threatened to stab a teacher.
“Every time we think it can’t get any worse, something else happens and it does get worse,” Rob says. “Unfortunately, him getting hold of a knife is quite likely to happen.”
They say Adolescence, which stars Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters and Owen Cooper, touched a nerve.
Jess and Rob say they called the police 100 times (this image shows actors in a Sky News reconstruction)
“My worst fear is that he’s going to end up killing one of us,” says Jess. “If not us, then somebody else…”
It’s a shocking thought for any parent to have. As well as contacting police, the family have tried many times to get help from social services and the NHS for Harry’s deteriorating mental health.
“We’ve been told that we’re using too many resources and accessing too many services,” Rob says. “We tried for 18 months to get him more intensive therapeutic help. At every turn it was ‘no, no, no’.”
Read more:
Starmer backs campaign to show Adolescence in schools
Inside the online gangs where boys compete to be cruel
They have found help with an organisation called PEGS that supports parents who are victims of their own children’s violence.
PEGS founder Michelle John says many families struggle to have their concerns taken seriously
Last year it was contacted by over 3,500 families, a 70% increase on 2023. Founder Michelle John says many families struggle to have their concerns taken seriously.
“What we’re hearing time and time again is that referrals are not being picked up because thresholds aren’t being met and perhaps the parent or caregiver isn’t a risk to the child,” she says. “Families are falling through gaps.”
In some parts of the country, local organisations are attempting to fill those gaps. Bright Star Boxing Academy in Shropshire has children referred by schools, social workers and even the police.
Joe Lockley, who runs the academy, says the problem is services that deal with youth violence are “inundated”.
“The biggest cause of the violent behaviour is mental health,” he says. “They lack that sense of belonging and control, and it’s quite easy to gain that from the wrong crowd and getting involved in violence.
“Social media is having a huge impact, especially around that young person’s identity.”
Ethan at the Bright Star Boxing Academy
Ethan, 18, agrees. He joined the academy aged 14. By then he had already been arrested several times for getting into fights.
He believes bullying sparked anxiety and depression. “Someone could look at me, I’d be angry,” he says.
“Social media – that’s definitely a massive part. You’ve got so many people that are living this material life. They’ve got loads of money.
“My main thing was seeing people with amazing bodies – I felt I couldn’t reach that point and it made me self-conscious, which would add on to the anger which then turned to hatred towards other people.”
Ethan says boxing has helped him turn his life around
Without the support of the boxing academy, he believes, he wouldn’t have been able to turn his life around.
“I would either be in prison or I would have done something a lot worse to myself,” he says.
“It’s just this massive mess in your head where you’ve got a million thoughts at once – you don’t know what to think or how to even speak sometimes,” he adds.
“All we need is someone that’s got the time for us… and the understanding that it’s a war in our heads.”
A government spokesperson told Sky News: “We have seen too many preventable tragedies caused by the failings of mental health services, and it’s unacceptable that young people have not been getting the care and treatment they need to keep them, their families and the wider public safe.
“We are working to ensure children and their families get that help. We are investing over £50m to fund specialist support in schools, launching a Young Futures hub in every community, and providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
A plastic surgeon has been found guilty of the attempted murder of a fellow doctor who he stabbed after a failed attempt to set his house on fire.
Peter Brooks had cycled to the home of Graeme Perks in Halam, near Southwell, Nottinghamshire, while wearing camouflage gear and armed with a crowbar, petrol, matches and a knife in the early hours of 14 January 2021.
The 61-year-old then doused the ground floor of the property with petrol before stabbing fellow plastic surgeon Mr Perks because he wanted him “out of the way”, his trial at Loughborough Courthouse heard.
The victim’s wife and children were sleeping at the time of the attack, the jury was told.
Mr Perks, a consultant plastic surgeon, had provided evidence in disciplinary proceedings against Brooks, who faced potentially losing his job with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, the jury was told.
Brooks was “voluntarily absent” from his month-long trial because he was on hunger strike and said he would “rather be dead than incarcerated”, it can now be reported.
He also sacked his lawyers before the trial and was unrepresented in the case.
Graeme Perks is fighting for his life in hospital. Pic: BAPRAS
When opening the prosecution’s case, Tracy Ayling KC had told the jury it was “clear that the defendant hated Graeme Perks” and wanted him “out of the way”.
Mr Perks, who was 65 at the time, had retired the month before the attack and suffered “extremely life-threatening” injuries to his liver, intestines and pancreas, and was given a 95% chance of death, the court was told.
He had woken up on the night of the attack when Brooks smashed through his conservatory, the jury heard.
The camouflage suit worn by Peter Brooks during the attack. Pic Nottinghamshire Police
Mr Perks then went downstairs where his feet “felt a bit damp” from the petrol, which Brooks had also thrown against the wall next to the stairs, before he felt a “blow to his body”, the court was told.
Brooks was later found asleep on a garden bench later that morning when he was taken to hospital for injuries to his hand, and was arrested.
His blood was found on a door at the scene of the attack.
Brooks has been convicted of two counts of attempted murder, attempted arson with intent to endanger life, and possession of a knife in a public place.
Jurors deliberated for more than 12 hours before finding Brooks guilty of all the charges against him.
Graeme Perks leaves court in Loughborough after giving evidence.
Pic: PA
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