Record prison recalls surge in England and Wales after criminals freed early to cut jail overcrowding

An unprecedented number of offenders in England and Wales have been returned to custody, coinciding with measures that have seen thousands of inmates released early to reduce severe prison overcrowding.

According to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics, 52,716 people were recommitted to jail in the year to June after breaching the terms of their licence.

This represents a 27 per cent rise compared with the 41,518 recorded during the previous year and stands as the highest 12-month total since present data tracking commenced in 2015.

Recalls began to decline in early 2026, however, which probably reflects a statutory amendment restricting the frequency with which certain offenders can be recalled within a three-month timeframe.

Figures released by the MoJ on Thursday further show that 79,274 prisoners were discharged early between September 2024 and June 2026 under emergency policies introduced by the Government to address overcrowding.

The initiative, referred to as the SDS40 early release scheme, reduced the proportion of sentences that eligible inmates in England and Wales must spend in prison from 50 per cent to 40 per cent.

It is one of several policy changes that are “likely” to have contributed to the rise in recalls, the MoJ said.

The emergency measures were replaced with a permanent scheme for early releases from 1 October under the Sentencing Act 2026.

Data on the number of prisoners released as part of the latest policy is not due to be published until spring next year.

The MoJ stressed the rise in recalls amid SDS40 releases was also likely to have been influenced by policy changes that result in most offenders taken back into custody for 56 days before being released again, instead of being held until the end of their sentence.

This means criminals can be recalled multiple times during the same sentence when they previously would have been recalled once for the duration of their term.

The most serious offenders are still subject to the standard recall procedures.

SDS40 replaced a separate scheme introduced by the previous Conservative government.

Under that process, 13,325 prisoners in England and Wales were freed early between 17 October 2023 and 9 September 2024.

The Government insisted it has taken “decisive action” to prevent the “total collapse of our prison system” and protect the public in the face of criticism over freeing prisoners early.

Another 650 prisoners, serving sentences of more than 882 days but fewer than 1,163 days, are due to be freed early on 10 November when the latest phase of the plan to tackle overcrowding comes into force.