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More than 70 prisoners released by mistake in 2016-17 amid violence surge More than 70 prisoners released by mistake in 2016-17 amid violence surge
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Dozens of prisoners in England and Wales have been released by mistake, official figures reveal, with violence in jails also surging to a new high in the past year. Dozens of prisoners have been released by mistake, official figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) have revealed, and prison violence has surged to a new high.
In 2016-17, 71 convicted criminals or suspects were mistakenly freed, a rise of seven on the previous year and the highest number since current records began a decade ago. In 2016-17, 71 convicted criminals or suspects were mistakenly freed, a rise of seven on the previous year and the highest number since current records began a decade ago. It means inmates were released in error at a rate of more than one a week.
It means prisoners were let out in error at a rate of more than one a week. The number of violent incidents across the prisons estate in England and Wales has also reached new levels. There were 26,643 assaults in the year to March, including a record 7,159 attacks on staff, equating to 20 a day.
The figures released on Thursday by the Ministry of Justice also show violent incidents have increased to record levels across the prisons estate in England and Wales. Of the mistaken releases, 58 were from prison establishments and 13 were during escort or at courts. Prisoners released in error are not considered to be unlawfully at large, according to an MoJ report setting out the figures.
There were 26,643 assaults in the year to March, including a record 7,159 attacks on staff, equivalent to 20 a day. The report states: “They are not culpable and may be unaware that they have not completed their sentence or have outstanding warrants. Depending on the circumstances of the case, they may not be actively pursued for return to custody.”
More details soon . . . A prisoner is officially classed as having been released in error if they are wrongly discharged from an establishment or court when they should have remained in custody. Examples of errors can include misplaced warrants for imprisonment or remand, recall notices not being acted on, sentence miscalculations or discharging the wrong person on escort.
The MoJ said releases in error were extremely rare and it took such cases very seriously, working with police to recapture offenders.
The findings are the latest in a line of statistics laying bare the scale of the safety crisis in prisons in England and Wales. Self-harm in jails also reached a record high of 40,414 incidents in the 12 months to March, a rise of 17% on the previous year.
Serious assaults on staff have trebled since 2013, reaching 805 in 2016-17, and assaults in female prisons reached 1,023, the highest level for at least nine years. The performance of 10 jails was rated as being of “serious concern”.
Campaigners and watchdogs have issued a catalogue of warnings about violence, drug use and overcrowding across the jail estate, which has been hit by a number of disturbances in the last year.
Responding to the figures, the Liberal Democrats said underfunding by the Conservative government had “turned our prisons into powder kegs”.
The party’s chief whip, Alistair Carmichael, said: “It is beyond belief that 71 potentially dangerous prisoners have been released by mistake. What should be places of rehabilitation are now dangerous hotbeds of violence, self-harm and drug abuse.
“No prison guard should have to go to work in fear of being seriously assaulted while being outnumbered six to one. The government has lost control of our prisons and urgently needs to get a grip.”
This month Peter Clarke, the chief inspector of prisons, warned that staffing levels in many establishments were too low to maintain order and described the conditions in which some inmates were held as “squalid, dirty and disgraceful”.
Peter Dawson, the director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “These numbers confirm what the chief inspector of prisons has described in graphic detail: that our prison system is nowhere near being safe for those who live and work within it.”
Ministers have launched a recruitment drive to add 2,500 frontline officers, and put in place new measures to tackle the availability of mobile phones and drugs in jails.
The justice secretary, David Lidington, said improving safety and security in prisons was his top priority. “These figures reinforce how crucial it is that we make progress as quickly as possible,” he said. “I have seen first-hand the challenges our dedicated and hard-working prison staff face. Boosting the frontline is critical to achieving safety and the number of prison officers we are recruiting is rising, with the number of new prison officers joining the service at its highest level since 2010.”