Labour frees 38,000 criminals early under controversial soft justice scheme
Labor released more than 38,000 offenders early under its soft justice programme.
New figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) show 38,042 offenders were released from prison under the scheme between its launch in September 2024 and the end of June.
The government imposed extra sentence reductions on most criminals, allowing them to be released after serving only 40 percent of the sentence imposed by the court.
This led to unpleasant scenes popping champagne corks outside the prison gates in September last year; some had pledged to become lifelong Labor voters as a result of early release.
The number of prisoners released under the program is increasing.
June saw 4,358 offenders released early under the program known as ‘SDS40’; This was the highest monthly number since October last year, when the first increase in backdated releases occurred.
The first day of Labour’s plan in September 2024 saw early release delays celebrating outside prisons. Pictured: A man celebrates his release from HMP Wandsworth
More than 38,000 prisoners have been released early by Labor since the launch of the scheme and monthly figures are rising. Picture: Shabana Mahmood visited HMP Millsike near York earlier this year when she was Justice Secretary
More than 1,000 serious criminals sentenced to more than ten years in prison have now been released early by the Labor Party.
Justice Department data showed that of those released so far, 346 were sentenced to 14 years or more in prison, while 710 were sentenced to 10 to 14 years.
Under Labour’s plan, an offender sentenced to 14 years in prison by the court would only be sentenced to five and a half years.
Those sentenced to more than four years in prison for sex crimes, terrorism and serious violent crimes are excluded from early release conditions.
However, violent criminals sentenced to less than four years in prison, including murderers convicted of involuntary manslaughter, can be released early.
An earlier scheme introduced by the former Tory government – releasing prisoners up to 70 days early – saw the release of 13,325 criminals within 11 months; of this proportion, less than a third were released by the Labor Party.
Shabana Mahmood introduced this program in September last year to free up space in overcrowded prisons when she was Minister of Justice.
Some released prisoners committed new crimes within a few hours.
An ex-con celebrates his early release with friends who pick him up in a Lamborghini
Ms Mahmood then drafted new soft justice measures that could allow even greater sentence reductions while enabling tens of thousands of other criminals to avoid prison altogether.
More than 1,000 convicts sentenced to ten years or more in prison have been released for the first time despite the seriousness of their crimes and the severity of their sentences, it has emerged. Pictured: HMP Wandsworth
According to the Sentencing Bill currently being discussed in Parliament, courts will no longer be able to impose a prison sentence of less than 12 months, except in ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Offenders convicted of serious violent or sexual offenses will be released after half their sentence instead of three-quarters of the current sentence.
Most other criminals will be released after serving only one-third of their sentences.
Justice Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood at the Labor Party conference in Liverpool in September
Ms Mahmood then moved to the Home Office where she became responsible for ensuring police caught criminals, who were then released from prison by her former department.
The early release plan is currently being overseen by Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister David Lammy.
