As the UK prepares for Tuesday’s mass release of prisoners in order to free up space for “keyboard warriors,” victims of domestic violence will have to be on the ready since a “high proportion” of them will be domestic abusers, The Times reported.
Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner, warned that as many as one-third of victims will be neither aware of their abuser’s release nor supported in any way by the government that decided to let the criminals out of jail before serving their apportioned time.
In an interview with The Times, Jacobs suggested the victims were “paying the price” not of government irresponsibility but of overcrowded prisons. She acknowledged that domestic abuse victims are especially vulnerable to released prisoners because their tormentors know who they are and where they probably live.
About 1,700 prisoners are slated to be released from British jails Tuesday as part of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's early release program. That’s about twice as many prisoners being released than normal. The Labour government plan means that criminals are getting released after serving 40 percent of their time, not the usual 50 percent and never 100 percent.
The government made the announcement eight weeks ago, apparently believing that would give the Probation Service sufficient time to prepare for the mass exodus from penitentiaries. However a senior probation officer has told The Times that the government timeline was completely mismanaged because it took weeks to assess what prisoners were eligible for early release and consequently many victims are hearing the unwelcome news literally days before the event.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood tried to reduce the number of domestic abusers getting out by excluding prisoners serving sentences for crimes such as non-fatal strangulation, coercive control, stalking, harassment or breach of a restraining or non-molestation order. But that didn’t prevent those from serving time for simple assault or criminal damage from being included in the release program.
The Ministry of Justice has flatly admitted that it cannot say how many domestic abusers will be released this week, according to The Times but a senior government official did admit, “A high proportion will be domestic abusers.”
On Saturday The Times revealed that two of the men being released include one who went to jail after breaking his partner’s jaw and a second who bragged about how much he was “enjoying it” as he assaulted his ex-partner.
