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Prison governors in England accuse Conservatives of being ‘disingenuous’ and point to effects of austerity The Prison Governors Association has just issued a lengthy statement about prisoners being released in error. Without discussing particular cases, it argues that these mistakes are happening because the system is in crisis and underfunded. Here are the main points. The PGA says releases in error (RiEs, in prison jargon) have happened under every government and “most practitioners, informed commentators, and impartial experts recognise this”. It says RiEs happen because the case management system is “complex and under-resourced”. It says “unprecedented” pressures have made the problem worse. The system is “running hot, and under constant strain”, it says. The prison system, like the wider criminal justice system, is under unprecedented and sustained pressure. This is not pressure felt in isolation — prisons are interconnected. While some establishments may be coping better than others, the strain is systemic. Decisions made to stabilise one prison — such as reducing capacity or increasing staffing — often have unintended, negative consequences elsewhere. Today, it feels as though every move to ease pressure in one part of the system simply shifts the burden to another … Despite a recent reduction in the overall prison population, overcrowding remains acute. Around 10,000 people are still held in overcrowded conditions. Crucially, the available space is not in reception prisons like Chelmsford or Wandsworth, which are among the most overcrowded and experience the highest levels of prisoner movement. According to the Howard League for Penal Reform, HMP Wandsworth is operating at 167% of its safe capacity, Chelmsford is at 133% of its safe capacity. It says the rise in the number of RiEs is “deeply concerning”. The scale of releases in error (RiEs) is deeply concerning. In the last full reporting year, 262 prisoners were released in error, averaging around 65 incidents per quarter. These errors include individuals released either too early or too late from their sentence, both scenarios carry serious consequences and undermine public confidence. But only around 0.5% of prisoners are released on the wrong date, the PGA says. It says, while this figure sounds small, it amounts to “a significant operational failure”. But “the conditions required to reduce this figure to zero simply do not exist”, it says. It says stopping all errors would require “substantial investment in staff training, modern IT infrastructure, and recruitment, all within a system already stretched by competing priorities”. It suggests the Conservatives are being “disingenuous” in trying to exploit this issue politically. Successive governments have accepted this level of risk for decades. In that context, it feels disingenuous to see politicians attempt to extract political gain from a prison system in crisis … While political parties showboat and grandstand, the real risk to the public is not being effectively managed — despite the relentless efforts of those working within HMPPS. The PGA says austerity left many prisons “without the flexibility they need to respond to local challenges”. Tax rises are … widely expected at the budget, with early indicators pointing to a collection of smaller measures to plug the gap. Yet bond markets are signalling that something more decisive may be needed to restore confidence and avoid another round of fiscal firefighting next year. If the chancellor opts for a larger revenue-raising step – particularly a manifesto-breaching increase in income tax or value-added tax (VAT) – she should make clear that it is temporary and conditional: a short-term measure to stabilise the public finances, not a permanent shift in direction. Continue reading...

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