Hundreds on the run and more than 100,000 sent straight back to prison after release

Breach: More than 100,000 offenders have breached terms of their release in the last 10 years
12 April 2012

More than 100,000 offenders, including killers, rapists and sex offenders, have been freed from jail only to be recalled after breaching the terms of their release over the last 10 years, figures have showed.

The number of offenders being sent back to jail each year more than quadrupled in 2009/10 from 2000/1 and looks set to increase even further when the full figures for the last financial year are published.

Almost 1,000 criminals who should be in jail remain on the run, including 20 murderers and nine rapists among a total of 126 violent offenders.

All prisoners serving fixed jail terms since 2005 have been automatically freed when they have completed half of their sentence, regardless of the risk they pose to the public or whether they have shown any remorse.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) admitted the number of prisoners being sent back to prison had risen "significantly".

"Offenders are spending longer on licence and agencies have improved arrangements in place to share intelligence," a spokesman said.
"As a result, there has been a significant increase in the number of offenders who are being recalled to custody."

One offender in his 30s, who was automatically released half-way through his five-year sentence for domestic violence and threatening to kill his partner, was subject to an emergency recall after texting death threats to her within two hours of his release in Merseyside, the probation union Napo said.

Another 21-year-old attacker in Surrey and Sussex, who stabbed someone he believed had informed on him, was also released half-way through a five-year sentence - only to go on the run for two weeks before being arrested close to his victim's home armed with a carving knife and crowbar.

The Napo briefing on dangerous offenders also highlighted a 30-year-old rapist, who was also convicted of false imprisonment and actual bodily harm.

Within a week of being automatically released after four years, police issued a media alert to find him amid fears for the safety of his victim. He was later caught and sent back to prison.
Harry Fletcher, Napo's assistant general secretary, said: "The number of prisoners recalled to custody has gone up by over 450% since 2001.

"Thousands of those who have been released clearly pose a risk to the public. It is not surprising therefore that the recall rate has increased so dramatically."

Campaigners have called for a discretionary system to be brought in for all prisoners serving two years or more so they would only be released if they no longer posed a significant risk.
Many of those still on the run pose a clear threat to the public, Napo warned.

The changes to the law six years ago mean there is "no incentive for prisoners to comply with prison regimes because they know that they will be released at the 50% point anyway".

A total of 118,779 offenders have been released and then recalled to prison up to the end of last year, with 954 remaining on the run, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures showed.

As well as the 126 violent criminals, a further 30 sex offenders are also on the loose.
The MoJ figures showed that 15,004 offenders were recalled in 2009/10, compared with just 3,182 in 2000/1.

As of December last year, 11,810 had been recalled in 2010/11, with the figures for the final three months of the year due to be published later this summer.

Hundreds of offenders serving life terms or indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP) have also been sent back to prison after breaching the terms of their licence or committing new offences.

The number of lifers recalled tripled over the last decade, rising to 99 in 2010 from 30 in 2001, the figures showed.

And since the IPP sentences were introduced, a total of 67 offenders jailed indefinitely to protect the public have been released and then sent back to jail, including 26 in 2010.

Mr Fletcher said: "Cuts of up to 15% over the next two to three years will compromise public protection, will lead to lower standards of supervision and will result in more crime and more victims."

An MoJ spokesman added: "The Government is committed to protecting the public.
"The time an offender spends on licence is an integral part of their sentence.

"We have robust enforcement arrangements in place to recall offenders who breach their licence conditions and present an unacceptable risk of re-offending.

"Last year over 90% of breaches by offenders under supervision were appropriately enforced by the probation service."

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