Notable prison releases in the UK to deal with prison overcrowding

I generally do not keep up with international crime and punishment stories, but this new story and headline from across the pond caught my eye: “Union warns of probation officer shortage ahead of prisoners’ early releases;  Up to 2,000 offenders due to be freed in England and Wales in September after serving 40% of sentence.”  Here are some details:

Ministers will struggle to prepare for next month’s early release of thousands of prisoners, a union has warned, after the latest figures showed a drop in the number of probation officers. Ministry of Justice data shows there were 178 fewer probation officers over the last quarter, as the service gets ready to monitor another 5,500 prisoners released over the next year despite deepening concerns over increased workloads for staff.

Up to 2,000 prisoners are expected to be released in the second week of September as part of an early release scheme, called SDS40, which will allow many prisoners to walk from prison after serving 40% of their sentences. A second tranche of up to 1,700 prisoners, all jailed for more than five years, are expected to be freed in late October after the law was changed by the lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, to relieve pressure on overcrowded prisons….

On Monday, the government said it would launch Operation Early Dawn, a longstanding plan that means defendants waiting for a court appearance can be held in police cells for longer until prison space is available.

The emergency scheme has been announced as hundreds of rioters are jailed in the wake of unrest this summer. The director of public prosecutions has said the criminal justice system requires “considerable investment” as the jailed rioters continue to put pressure on overcrowded prisons.

There are, I surmise, lots of political and practical backstories here that have contributed to the state of UK punishment laws and practices. Here are a couple of recent press pieces that perhaps provide some useful context:

From the Financial Times, “How ‘sentencing inflation’ fuelled England’s prisons crisis“

From the New York Sun, “U.K. To Release Thousands From Overcrowded Prisons Following Surge of Arrests During Anti-Immigration Riots“