'Early release' prisoners back in jail, say police

Three people are back behind bars after being arrested by Humberside Police days after leaving prison under the government's early release scheme, the BBC has learnt.

The woman and two men were arrested for offences including burglary, drunk and disorderly and fraud by false representation, the force confirmed.

Humberside Police confirmed all three offenders were now back in prison.

They were among around 700 prisoners from across the country who were released from custody early on 1 October in a bid to tackle prison overcrowding. Seventy-four of them were released into the Humberside Police area.

A government spokesperson said: "These offenders are rightly back in custody."

Explaining the rationale for the scheme, they added: "Had we failed to act, the police would have been forced to halt arrests, putting victims and communities at untold risk.

"To protect the public, we're putting thousands more neighbourhood police officers on our streets, introducing the toughest-ever licence controls, expanding electronic tagging, investing in probation at record levels, and delivering 14,000 more prison places."

The BBC asked Humberside Police how many additional neighbourhood officers were being appointed, but it has yet to respond.

Earlier this month, Ministry of Justice data showed nearly 90,000 people were incarcerated, taking prison population levels up to 98.2% capacity.

Under the first phase of the scheme, offenders serving sentences of up to 19 months were eligible to be released after serving one third of their sentence.

A further 2,500 prisoners will be released across the country by the end of the year.

Lincolnshire Police said none of the offenders who were released early in its force area have since been rearrested.

Other police forces have told of the speed at which some early release prisoners re-offended.

In London, a man was jailed for shoplifting just days after his early release.

The Metropolitan Police's Det Ch Supt Luke Williams wrote to local politicians to outline what he called the "astonishing" impact such re-offending has on policing.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police confirmed its officers arrested eight men who were part of the early release scheme, for offences including domestic violence and drugs.

Fifty of the 700 prisoners released were from the Greater Manchester area.

Humberside Police declined to comment on the impact of the scheme on its policing.

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