The early release scheme it's a gimmick and helps no-one but criminals. Just build more prisons.

This is an area where something could be done, but school absence no longer seems a priority. As Casdon has pointed out this is not so. In fact schools are obsessed with attendance as OfSted downgrades them on this.
The problem is that the approach is punitive with fines involved (to families who do not have a hope of being able to pay) rather than going back a stage and asking why a child is not in school, which could be family problems or the current nature of our rigid test-ridden education system.
Scandinavian does all this so much better: family support, education, low prison reoffending rates. I think this is simply because they have a communal mindset where society pulling together for the benefit of all is ingrained and reflected in the air social and educational policies. Over here it has become dog eat dog.

I'm certainly not convinced building more prisons solves the underlying problem. Many experts think the criminal justice system should be seen as the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, while early intervention is the fence at the top. You still need police, courts, and prisons, but if you're only investing in prisons and not in prevention, you're mainly dealing with problems after they've developed.

Evidence I've seen suggests that the certainty of being caught is a much stronger deterrent than simply increasing prison places or sentence lengths.

Early childhood programmes, family support, good education, and rehabilitation all have stronger evidence for reducing future offending than simply increasing prison capacity.

Countries like Norway and Finland imprison far fewer people but invest heavily in rehabilitation and generally achieve lower reoffending rates. To me, the real measure of success isn't how many people are in prison, it's how few repeat their previous behaviour. Prison is, in so many ways, a waste of money.

However, what Labour is dealing with is the accumulation of the mess created by other governments. It would seem less partisan if we gave AB et al a little more than two or three days to introduce a better policy than the current one. Until that point, sadly, they have to use what they have available.

I’m wondering why Timpson resigned.

And, of course, the rate is higher still, in the USA.

MayBee, the reoffending rate, within two years, in Britain, is just under 30%.
The reoffending rate in Norway, which is expressed by the nature of the crime, is between 16% and 20%.

Working with and supporting employers willing to take on and continue to work with former prisoners should be a priority. I was sad to see that James Timpson resigned as I think that was a really good initiative.

It is.
educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2025/08/why-school-attendance-matters-and-what-were-doing-to-improve-it/

There is nothing wrong with rehabilitation; it is simply that the resources are not there. And many young criminals are very poorly educated because they miss so much school, due to poor parenting. This is an area where something could be done, but school absence no longer seems a priority.

I have a strong sense that however many prisons are built they will be full and more will be ‘needed’. I am not sure that is the answer. Mostly rehabilitation or at least an attempt at it with decent and experienced psychs seems to be needed. Problem is, decent and experienced psychiatrists and psychologists probably don’t particularly want to work with criminals. So pay them well, maybe ? Of course there are always some beyond redemption and long term prison sentences are needed for these people.

MollyNew

FGT2 What is wrong with rehabilitation and support for offenders? A substantial proportion of the prison population have limited literacy skills and very little prospect of employment before they are sentenced. If they can't access support during their sentence and on release, then their risk of reoffending just increases.

Timpsons make a point of employing prisoners don’t they?

Chocolatelovinggran

Evidence suggests that there is less reoffending in countries with more focus on rehabilitation, than there is in countries with a more punishment based model of incarceration.

I was going to ask about this. As usual I think it’s Scandinavian countries that deal with this sort of thing better than we do, but I can’t remember which country was mentioned in the article I read.

I did this role for 3 years, til funding withdrawn. .... and this just sums up the situation in a nutshell.

We are in this ludicrous situation where no government is prepared (or allowed) to think long term - something good gets underway and then they pull the plug. It happens all the time.

It is good to see some joined up thinking on here with people being aware that an apparently simple question about early release is about so much more and goes back and back to how we fail to properly support families and children. Underfunding in these services leads to unwanted consequences for society and more spending in the long term.

Cossy

Iam64

And another thing 🌞. IMO we imprison too many people for eg fraud. I’m not diminishing the impact on victims but my experience is this group of offenders generally pose no threat to the general public and get lengthy custodial sentences . Community punishment much more appropriate

I agree

Totally agree 👍

Yes, I can see that point of view too.

I understand that view doodledog but is it possibly not the idea that some lives are worth more than others ( which obviously isn't true) but rather a recognition of professions that continually place themselves in danger for the general good.

Around 5,000 prison spaces are being actively built as we speak. We're in the middle of a huge prison expansion initiative.
I know we needed them yesterday, but the £££ mis-spent in the PPE scandal shows the dangers of government having to do things too fast to allow proper scrutiny of the process. It takes time.

Just seen that Burnham is going to review the scheme.

FGT2 What is wrong with rehabilitation and support for offenders? A substantial proportion of the prison population have limited literacy skills and very little prospect of employment before they are sentenced. If they can't access support during their sentence and on release, then their risk of reoffending just increases.

Iam64

Tony Blair’s Working Together orange book was a good document. His government understood the needs Plevey outlines. They invested in Sure Start, encouraged early support interventions and multi agency working

Austerity effectively stopped good inter agency working and devastated support services

It did indeed. Early intervention is always the answer in some of these chaotic families lives.

I worked on the horribly named “Troubled Families” project, seconded from a local jobcentre into the local authority to work with family workers, just 1 tier below social workers, sometimes working in tandem with them.

In our part of Essex a family worker would be allocated to a family for one year. Seeing and meeting with them in their own homes, I would be allocated to several family workers. Attending specific meetings to talk about and assist with removing barriers to work, then to help them prepare for work. Not in pointless 10 minute meetings in a job centre, but perhaps an hour meeting at a time as many times a week as they required. I did this role for 3 years, til funding withdrawn.

Yes indeed and that’s why a holistic health support based support alternative to custody approach is so much more effectvev

Plevey08

I've thought for a long time that it's a societal problem. Early intervention should be made high priority. It was sad when Sure start was stopped. Children go to their GP for vaccinations but rarely are the family asked how they are managing. There are obvious known families which need more intervention support and mentoring. But there are many families unable to cope for multiple reasons. Any many only just getting by. Unless government's really understands and invests in educating and meeting the needs of these families, it shouldn't surprise us that many become dysfunctional. This should include many more fully qualified social workers and way more support for schools, educational psychologists and far more outreach and role model support with the aim being early intervention.

Yes!

Iam64

And another thing 🌞. IMO we imprison too many people for eg fraud. I’m not diminishing the impact on victims but my experience is this group of offenders generally pose no threat to the general public and get lengthy custodial sentences . Community punishment much more appropriate

I agree

And another thing 🌞. IMO we imprison too many people for eg fraud. I’m not diminishing the impact on victims but my experience is this group of offenders generally pose no threat to the general public and get lengthy custodial sentences . Community punishment much more appropriate

Oreo

When you think about it, emergency services personnel should be put first ( to deter attackers) as their jobs are all about keeping us safe, police, firefighters and ambulance staff.If there wasn’t a chance of any earlier release than two thirds of a sentence for violent people who harm them it sends a powerful message.

It would, and my heart goes out to the family of the policeman who was killed by being dragged for a mile. I don't think those thugs should get out at all, never mind early. I just worry that having what amounts to different sentences for attacks on different groups could be problematic. If, heaven forbid, I lost my son in that way I wouldn't see his life as worth less because he's not an emergency worker.

Tony Blair’s Working Together orange book was a good document. His government understood the needs Plevey outlines. They invested in Sure Start, encouraged early support interventions and multi agency working

Austerity effectively stopped good inter agency working and devastated support services