According to The Telegraph, some prisoners released earlier this week were recalled to prison a few days after their release.
The first offender to be sent back to prison is understood to have been recalled within 36 hours of being released on Tuesday under the government’s early release scheme.
Around 1,750 prisoners were released on Tuesday after prisons in England and Wales ran out of space.
Under the plan, prisoners were released after completing 40 percent of their sentences, not half. Up to 1,700 more are expected to be released on Tuesday, October 22.
Many were recalled for licensing violations that put restrictions on where they can go, who they can meet with and where they can live, and required them to attend meetings with supervisors.
It is believed that the first person to be recalled did not arrive at the previously determined address and that the inspectors notified the police, who found him and detained him again within 36 hours.
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Prison and probation sources said they always expected inmates to be recalled, even if released early.
“The idea that there would be a significant change in their behaviour if they spent another 10 per cent of their time in custody would be very optimistic,” one source said.
Probation chief inspector Martin Jones predicted early recalls on Tuesday, saying it was “almost certain” prisoners would be sent back to prison “within a few days or weeks” because “things would go wrong in society” and they would breach their licence conditions.
The most important factor determining early recalls is whether released prisoners have access to housing, the expert said, and based on previous trends, he predicted that a third of released prisoners are likely to reoffend within a year.
On Tuesday, The Telegraph spoke to one prisoner who is due back in prison soon. Jack Creighton, 54, said he would be “sleeping on a park bench tonight” after being released early without any accommodation arranged.
Creighton, who said he had been “in and out of prison” for “minor offences”, was released from HMP Wandsworth in south London.
Speaking outside the prison gates, the suspect said: “I’m going to sleep on a park bench tonight, then I’ll undoubtedly start drinking and then I’ll come back.”
Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood has put budget hotels on standby for emergency accommodation in a bid to reduce the likelihood of released prisoners becoming homeless. Just over 13 percent of released offenders were homeless in the year to March.
The chance of being recalled has also increased due to prison overcrowding, which means recruitment training, education and rehabilitation work such as drug or alcohol treatment programmes are being curtailed, according to reports by chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor.
A 59-year-old man released early from HMP Brixton on Tuesday told The Times that he was held there for “punching people on the head” but was released after serving 17 months.
Asked if he felt rehabilitated, the man, who gave his name only as Mr T, said: “Absolutely not. There is no rehab.
“Nobody talks to you – you just walk in, lay down and 17 months later I’m out. I don’t want to reoffend but you never know. You can never say no.”
According to the Justice Ministry data, the number of prisoners released due to license violations between January and March of this year was 7,415. This number increased by 9 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
The 7,415 recalls represented more than half of the 13,829 prisoners released in the same quarter. Around 12,000 prisoners are said to be recalled to prison at any one time (around 13% of the total prison population).
The nine per cent increase comes as the Conservative Party introduces a temporary early release scheme and probation officers are taking greater care following high-profile scandals about ex-prisoners committing more crimes.
In a report on the data, Justice Department officials warned that the Conservative Party’s extension of the early release plan for prisoners by up to 70 days from the planned date would mean “recalls will increase over the next few quarters”.
Labour’s plan is different, changing the release date for all prisoners to 40% of their sentence, except those sentenced to no more than four years for sexual offences, terrorism, domestic violence or violence.
This gives prison and probation officers greater certainty about release dates, sources said. The Ministry of Justice also said that by announcing the plan two months ago, it was intended to give all relevant authorities and services the necessary time to prepare for the release of offenders and inform victims.
A MoJ spokesman said: “This Government has inherited a justice system on the brink of collapse and the worst possible outcome for victims would be to allow that to happen. We have been forced to take difficult but necessary action, and safeguards have been put in place so we can continue to jail criminals and protect the public.
“Those released under this scheme will be subject to full regulatory oversight, including tough licensing conditions such as tags, restricted areas and curfews, and we will not hesitate to recall those who breach the rules back to custody.”