Prisoner release plans 'least worst option' says Wiltshire PCC
Philip Wilkinson has given tentative support to the Government's proposals
Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has labelled plans to release prisoners early to ease the capacity crisis as 'the least worst option'.
Philip Wilkinson says safety and wellbeing of victims needs to be central to the approach, warning the impact on victims of those released carried the most risk and must be the first people considered.
Every PCC in the country was briefed on the plans in a letter from Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood MP which revealed the prison system was rapidly running out of spaces in the adult male prison estate.
The proposal will see prisoners freed after serving 40% of their sentence.
However, this would not apply to those jailed for serious violent sentences of four years or more and those convicted of sex offences.
In an important distinction from End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme, the early release of offenders in prison for domestic abuse connected crimes will also be excluded. This will include:
o Stalking offences
o Controlling or coercive behaviours in an intimate or family relationship
o Non-fatal strangulation and suffocation
o Breach of restraining order, non-molestation order, and domestic abuse protection order
Mr Wilkinson said: “I do recognise the challenges being faced nationally within the prison service and, of course, I am completely cognisant of the fact this current course of action being looked at to ease this crisis is the least-worst option.
“I can only add a tentative level of support for this if the Government are considering victims safety – and their wellbeing – at the very basis for the plans currently being worked upon."
He said it is currently unclear as to how many people would return to Wiltshire upon release.
He said: "What we have to do locally – and my role will ensure this happens – is to plan for this and enable engagement with a wide range of partners including Wiltshire Police and across the criminal justice, and local authority, systems.
“We need them to work together effectively – and without bureaucratic barriers - so we safely and comprehensively manage any risk to the public, alongside the safeguarding of victims, with the current early release proposals.”
The PCC also moved to reassure us that the number of arrests made by Wiltshire Police would not be affected.
He said he's been told by Chief Constable Catherine Roper that officers have been told to arrest suspects as they normally would.
He said: “It is the core responsibility of Wiltshire Police to keep our communities, and those most vulnerable, safe. Despite the national issues with prison capacity, this will continue to be the Force’s primary focus in our county.
“Residents should be reassured that the Chief Constable has directed her officers to continue to arrest suspects as usual so that those who commit crimes and present risk to our communities are taken off the streets. I fully support this stance.
“Overcrowding in prisons is a national government issue so Wiltshire Police will continue in its delivery of a quality, frontline, policing service for all residents.”