‘Early release of prisoners puts policing under further pressure’

1 October 2026

The early release of prisoners could be catastrophic for a police service already in crisis, according to West Midlands Police Federation chair Jess Davies.

The Government scheme, which will eventually see thousands of inmates let out on licence early, got underway today (Thursday 1 October) with the first 700 offenders jailed for a range of crimes including theft, violence and domestic abuse, being allowed to leave prison having served only one third of their sentence.

“This scheme is going to put the police service under huge pressure at a time when it is already in crisis; morale is low, we are struggling to retain officers and the demands being placed on us just grow and grow,” says Jess.

Impact

“I am extremely concerned about the impact the release of these prisoners is going to have on policing. We simply don’t have anywhere near enough officers to cope with this.

“As is always the case, there are only so many officers to go around, and if the police service is expected to cope with the extra work this scheme will create then something else will have to go and I am not sure that is something the public will not want.

“Police officers join the police service to serve the public, to keep the peace, to protect the vulnerable and to fight and prevent crime. It can be galling for them to do their job, to put offenders behind bars and then to find that they are released before having served their sentence. But, added to that, this scheme will also almost inevitably lead to more work for them.

Back behind bars

“The scheme has been launched to try to ease the pressure on overcrowded prisons, but while it may initially achieve that aim, I am not convinced it will in the medium to long-term given that many have already predicted they would be back behind bars within weeks.”

A further 3,800 prisoners are expected to be released in the next 10 months.

But the prison and probation watchdogs have already warned there could be record rates of recalls as those released through the scheme breach their licences or commit further offences.