Nottinghamshire prisoners released early will be 'managed intensively'
Prisoners released early in Nottinghamshire will be "managed intensively" to ensure the public are being kept safe. Around 1,700 prisoners across the country were recently released early as Prime Minister Keir Starmer said prisons had been left at "crisis point" by the Conservatives.
Ministry of Justice figures show the prison population dropped by more than 2,000 following the first set of early releases, for which those who had served 40% of their sentence were eligible. Offenders imprisoned for serious violent offences with sentences of over four years were not released and neither were sex offenders.
Nottinghamshire's police and crime commissioner (PCC), Gary Godden, has confirmed that around 40 prisoners were released early in Nottinghamshire and that another set of early releases will be coming soon. Speaking at a meeting on Monday (September 16), Mr Godden said: "[The Probation Service] have reassured me that prisoners that have been released will be managed and monitored as to their licence conditions...They are going to be managed quite intensively."
The Probation Service is the government body supervising offenders who have been released from prison and Mr Godden said he will be pushing them if necessary, with prisoners having been released from sites across Nottinghamshire. Asked if the public were safe, the PCC told Nottinghamshire Live: "I've been assured by our probation partners that that is the case and if that is not the case then I will be holding them to account."
Mr Godden said the early release scheme in Nottinghamshire had been successful so far, adding in the meeting: "I've been reassured by our partners that this was handled effectively and as part of business as usual. Agencies recieved sufficient notice to undertake effective release planning and none of our support providers were adversely affected."
The early releases came after a recent report found that HMP Nottingham was operating under "constant pressure" given capacity issues, with some inmates locked in their cells for 22 hours a day. HMP Ranby in North Nottinghamshire is currently having two modular house blocks built to accommodate more than 100 extra inmates.