Fast-track removals of foreign criminals are expected to be pledged in the King’s Speech on Wednesday as part of efforts to tackle the prison overcrowding crisis.
Ministers are set to review proposals aimed at reducing the number of foreign offenders held in jails in England and Wales. The objective is to free up as many as 10,000 places to alleviate the current shortages in the prison system.
Proposed Measures
The options being considered include:
- Prisoner Transfer Deals: Expanding deals where offenders are deported to serve their sentences in their home countries.
- Early Removals: Allowing the early removal of criminals before they have fully completed their sentences.
- Expelling Lower-Level Offenders: Deporting lower-level offenders from the UK.
As of the end of March this year, there were 10,422 foreign nationals in jails in England and Wales, up from 10,148 at the same point last year. This represents about 12% of all prisoners, with each costing the taxpayer £47,000 annually for accommodation, food, and rehabilitation, amounting to nearly £500 million a year.
Addressing Prison Overcrowding
The initiative follows an announcement by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood last Friday. She revealed that thousands of criminals will be automatically released 40% of the way through their prison sentences, rather than at the halfway point, to prevent jails in England and Wales from running out of space.
In a speech at Five Wells prison in Wellingborough, Mahmood emphasized the urgency of the situation, warning that the prison crisis could lead to a collapse of the criminal justice system within weeks, resulting in the “total breakdown of civil law and order.”
Prisoners released early will include violent offenders serving sentences under four years for crimes such as assault, as well as burglars, robbers, and thieves. However, sex offenders, terrorists, domestic abusers, and those jailed for over four years for serious violence will be excluded from early release.
Potential Impact
Officials project that the early release scheme, set to start in September, could reduce the prison population by around 5,000—half the number of foreign offenders currently in custody.
Ongoing Discussions and Measures
Officials in the Ministry of Justice are reviewing measures initiated by former justice secretary Alex Chalk before the snap summer election and subsequent Tory defeat. Discussions had been opened with Poland and Romania to replicate a deal with Albania, where around 40 of the most dangerous criminals from the Balkan state have been or are being returned to serve the rest of their sentences in their home country.
Chalk also introduced an emergency measure where foreign prisoners serve shorter sentences than Britons. Under the “early removal scheme,” they can be freed from UK jails and deported to their homelands up to 18 months earlier than a British prisoner would be released if serving the same sentence. Foreign prisoners under this scheme face lifetime bans from returning to the UK.
Legal and Remand Issues
Many foreign prisoners lodge human rights or other legal claims while in prison in an attempt to remain in the UK, particularly if they have established roots and have family in Britain.
Another option being considered by the Home Office would involve deporting foreign shoplifters, thieves, and drug dealers rather than prosecuting them. This scheme targets reducing foreign prisoners on remand who have been charged but not yet convicted. As of March 2024, there were 3,422 foreign prisoners on remand, up from 3,132. The remand population has risen from 11,000 in 2020 to a record 16,458, partly due to backlogs in crown court cases, and now accounts for nearly 19% of all prisoners.
The government’s efforts to address the overcrowding crisis in prisons by deporting foreign offenders are part of a broader strategy to maintain the integrity and functionality of the criminal justice system.
