Criminals on the Loose

The news headlines in recent weeks have featured one recurring story: prisoners mistakenly released from prison due to bureaucratic errors and a prison system under strain. After three men were mistakenly released in quick succession, official figures confirmed this was no anomaly: 91 prisoners were wrongly released between April and October 2025, around three a week.

But these fears of criminals "on the loose" are hardly new. In the mid-19th century, the country was preoccupied by similar concerns. As transportation to Australia came to an end and a new system of penal servitude took its place, the press and public became alarmed that violent offenders who ought to have been behind bars were instead back on the streets.

Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of prison crises past and present, tracing the parallels between Victorian anxieties and today’s concerns over mistaken releases, early release, and the pressures facing the criminal justice system.

Guests: Helen Johnston, Professor of Criminology at the University of Hull; John Podmore, former prison governor and inspector.

Producer: Dan Hardoon
Reader: Clive Hayward