UK Police Confirm Two Mistaken Releases From London Prison

The cases underscore a wider rise in errors that officials tie to an early-release policy introduced to ease overcrowding.

Overview

Police said on Nov. 5 that a 24-year-old Algerian man jailed for public indecency was wrongly freed on Oct. 29 from a London prison.
A second inmate at the same facility, a 35-year-old serving a sentence for fraud, was erroneously released on Nov. 3.
The government reports more than 260 mistaken releases in the 12 months to March, more than double the previous year.
An early-release measure launched in September last year to reduce overcrowding has made prison administration more complex, which officials cite as a contributor to errors.
Opposition parties are intensifying criticism of the government over repeated failures to prevent such incidents.