Newly elected leftist U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is planning to use his office’s emergency powers to release approximately 40,000 so-called “non-violent offenders” in a bid to address overcrowding in England and Wales prisons.
The current prison system of England and Wales has a capacity of up to 88,815 inmates. However, the prison population in the United Kingdom has surged dramatically from approximately 41,000 in the early 1990s to over 87,000 last month due to tougher sentencing laws and court backlogs over the past few decades. (Related: Leftist Keir Starmer becomes new British prime minister, pledges to put “country first, party second.”)
Newly installed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood has been informed that only about 700 spaces remain in the male prison estate. If the day comes without intervention, these spaces are projected to reach full capacity by Aug. 1. Additionally, the British think tank the Institute for Government noted a 13 percent increase in the prison population over the past three years, with projections suggesting it could reach 99,300 by the end of next year.
As a temporary measure, a policy introduced last October permits the early release of some less serious offenders by up to 18 days, which was extended to 70 days in May. But then, the current situation needs more immediate action.
In an interview with BBC political editor Chris Mason a few weeks before the election, Starmer admitted that he could not “magic up a new prison on Friday morning” if elected prime minister.
Hellbound and Down 