PULSE POINTS
WHAT HAPPENED: Nearly 40,000 inmates have been released early in England and Wales under a government scheme aimed at tackling prison overcrowding.
WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ), former Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, and prison officials across England and Wales.
WHEN & WHERE: The scheme began in September 2024, with releases continuing through June 2025 across various prisons in England and Wales.
KEY QUOTE: “The criminal justice system was on the verge of collapse.” – Shabana Mahmood
IMPACT: The scheme has temporarily alleviated overcrowding, but at the cost of public safety, and long-term prison capacity and operational challenges remain.
IN FULL
An estimated 40,000 prisoners across England and Wales have been released early under the Labour government’s emergency program, which it says is aimed at addressing prison overcrowding. According to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), 38,042 inmates were freed as of June 2025 after the program was launched on September 10, 2024. The program allows eligible prisoners to be released after serving just 40 percent of their sentence, instead of the usual 50 percent.
The initiative came as the prison population hit a record 88,521, with officials warning that male prisons could reach zero capacity by November 2025. His Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Humber in Brough has released the highest number of inmates under the Labour government scheme (1,126), followed by Berwyn in Wrexham (1,064), Fosse Way in Leicester (1,037), and Parc B in Bridgend (830).
Then-Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood—currently the Home Secretary, roughly equivalent to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary—introduced legislation in September 2024 to address the crisis, stating, “The criminal justice system was on the verge of collapse.” However critics have noted that a lack of asylum accommodation has not stopped the government from allowing an ever-increasing number of boat migrants to lodge claims, with additional spaces for them always being funded at the taxpayers’ expense. Spending on migrant hotels alone is now more than the entire prison budget.
Notably, figures show that as of September 30, 2025, the prison population in England and Wales was 87,465, with 12.3 percent being foreign nationals. Prisons suffer serious operational issues related to foreign criminals, as highlighted by a recent incident where a migrant pedophile was mistakenly released instead of being transferred to an immigration detention center for deportation.
Image by JV.
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