What happens when government policy meets an entirely unfit system? Today’s report on HMP Peterborough by HM Inspector of Prisons reveals a jail unable to handle the government’s early release scheme. Last October, in an effort to stop our prisons running out of room, Alex Chalk announced the End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme, under which prisoners would be released 18 days early. Last month, with the prisons almost full again, he amended the policy so that prisoners can now be released 60 days early.
Every recalled prisoner costs money to return to prison
Today HM Inspector has revealed what this means in practice. HMP Peterborough is a large, Category B ‘Reception’ prison; this means it receives men directly from the courts and releases many into the local community. Although it is a private prison, managed by Sodexo, it’s similar to many public ‘B Cat’ jails across the country; it has a large, transient population, many of whom serve short sentences there.
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