Third wave schedules early release of about 650 prisoners

About 650 prisoners in England and Wales were scheduled to leave custody early on Tuesday, November 10, in the third wave of the government’s release scheme. The group is serving sentences of between two years and five months and three years and two months. One report said releases had begun, but the final number released in this wave was not established in the reports.

The government plans to release about 5,000 prisoners in stages over the next year, down from an initial plan of 6,000. Ministers reduced the total after excluding rapists and the most serious child sex offenders. Manslaughter offenders, terrorists and people serving life sentences for murder are also among those excluded, according to the scheme’s reported rules.

The policy changes the custodial portion of standard determinate sentences: eligible prisoners generally serve one-third of their sentence in prison before release, rather than one-half. Those released remain on licence and can be returned to prison for breaching its conditions. Some offenders may face restrictions on where they can go, and government officials said there is a presumption that those freed early will be fitted with GPS tags.