Soar in offenders sent back to jail
According to the Prison Reform Trust the number of offenders returned to jail has trebled in the last three years.
More than 2,300 offenders re-entered custody in 2001/02 after being released from jail and by 2003/04 this figure had risen to more than 8,000.
The trust believes that this is one hidden factor behind why the UK’s prison population is increasing, although the reason behind the rise is the subject of some debate.
The PRT claims the majority of people on probation are recalled not because they have committed new crimes but because they break their licence conditions.
But the Home Office states that the increase in the number of offenders being returned to jail shows that the probation service is merely doing its job correctly.
The author of the PRT report, Enver Soloman, said: “Large number of offenders, who do not pose a threat to the public, are being dragged back into overcrowded, overstretched jails at great expense to the taxpayer.
“Prisons exist to protect the public and detain serious, persistent criminals rather than warehouse people who have done their time and need support in the community to rebuild their lives.”
Juliet Lyon, director of the PRT, added that the Home Office should ensure that people who leave prison receive the “sustained support and supervision” that would allow them to re-enter society without the threat of custody hanging over their heads.
