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4w ago

UK Justice Secretary Signals Early Parole for Serious Offenders to Tackle Prison Overcrowding

Shabana Mahmood considers controversial sentencing reforms, including a Texas-style incentive system, as overcrowding pushes prisons to over 99% capacity despite new facilities like HMP Millsike.

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Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood (left) being given a tour during the official opening of HMP Millsike (Photo: PA)
Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, tours the newly opened HMP Millsike in Yorkshire, a Category C jail adding 1,500 places as part of efforts to tackle prison overcrowding

Overview

  • Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has suggested early parole for serious offenders, such as those convicted of manslaughter, to address the UK's prison overcrowding crisis.
  • HMP Millsike, a new 1,500-cell rehabilitation-focused prison in York, was opened to support long-term efforts to reduce reoffending and ease capacity pressures.
  • The government is exploring a Texas-style system rewarding good behavior with earlier parole, as part of a sentencing review led by former minister David Gauke, with recommendations expected in the coming months.
  • Mahmood emphasized that the most dangerous offenders, including murderers, will remain in prison under any proposed reforms.
  • Despite plans to build 14,000 new prison places by 2031, Mahmood acknowledged that construction alone cannot resolve the crisis, and further emergency measures, such as early release schemes, remain possible.