London, Thanasis Gavos

The decision of the new British government to release thousands of prisoners early in order to decongest prisons in England and Wales announced the Minister of Justice Shambana Mahmoud.

Warning of the risk of “collapse of the criminal justice system and complete disruption of law and order”, the new minister announced that from September prisoners for minor offenses will be released after serving 40% of their sentence. Today, parole in such cases usually takes place at 50% of the time of the sentence.

It is estimated that in the first months of implementation, approximately 5,500 female prisoners will be released.

The early release measure will exclude perpetrators of serious violent crimes who have received prison sentences of more than four years, including perpetrators of domestic violence. For the most serious crimes the penal code in England and Wales provides for consideration of a request for parole after serving 2/3 of the sentence.

Those released early will be subject to strict monitoring, including an electronic wristband and restrictions on movement hours.

The decision was actually announced during the pre-election period and immediately after his elevation to the prime ministership by Sir Keir Starmerblaming the previous government for failing to prevent the saturation of the prison system.

The latest figures show that of the almost 89,000 places in prison cells in England and Wales, only 708 are empty, less than half the safe margin for prisons to operate.

The former Conservative justice minister Alex Chock he is said to have proposed a similar measure, with the proposal being rejected by Rishi Sunak.

The previous government had implemented another early release system that allowed some categories of prisoners to be released up to 70 days before the end of their sentence.

Labor says that measure, which had led to the release of more than 10,000 prisoners, was not accompanied by the security guarantees contained in the new measure.