Andy Burnham has said he will review an early prisoner release policy.
Jennifer Cirone, Director of Services at Solace: “It is essential that this review into the early release prison scheme prioritises the needs of domestic abuse and sexual violence survivors, over concerns about overcrowding.
Despite assurances that survivors’ safety would be prioritised, the scheme’s pace of implementation resulted in significant shortcomings, including survivors receiving little or no notice before perpetrators were released, and uncertainty as to whether monitoring would be in place.
“We encourage the government to pause any planned early releases until sufficient safeguards are in place and there is confidence survivors will be notified, protected and supported.”