Early release prisoners reoffend

The early-release scheme aims to free space in the prison system

Six criminals released early from prison because of the overcrowding crisis committed eight more crimes after being let out, it has emerged.

A further 18 are on the run, the Ministry of Justice revealed.

Its figures show that 1,701 prisoners - 344 of whom were convicted of violence against the person - were freed in the first week of the scheme from 29 June.

The number of inmates in England and Wales went down during the week to 79,339 from an all-time high of 81,040.

This first wave of early releases means no offenders are being held in overspill cells in police stations or courts for the first time since April.

The released prisoners were guilty of offences including theft and handling stolen goods, violence against the person, drug offences, forgery and motoring offences.

Blame

The opposition parties said the scheme was "shambolic" and put the public at risk.

Shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said: "It is totally unacceptable that over 1,700 prisoners have been released early on to the streets, including violent offenders, those who have committed theft and drugs-related offences.

"The public is being placed at risk and the blame lies squarely with ministers who 10 years ago ignored future projections of the prison population and failed to build adequate capacity."

Liberal Democrat justice spokesman David Heath said: "The shambolic way in which the scheme has been carried out is just the latest sorry episode in the saga of prison mismanagement."

'Blip'

Mark Leech, editor of the Prisons Handbook, said prison numbers would soon rise again.

"I think it is a blip in what is an endless spiral in the prison population," he said.

"The reality is that many of those released in the last week will be finding themselves back in prison within a very short period of time because of breach of licence conditions and an overstretched probation service."

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "When new ministers are able to put in place proper provision for the 50,000 people a year who serve sentences of less than six months, then we will see the prison population drop back to a sensible level."

Under the early release scheme, offenders are being let out up to 18 days ahead of their scheduled release date and the measures will apply to 25,500 prisoners over the course of a year.

But inmates convicted of serious sexual or violent offences are excluded.