Urgent reform is needed to avoid another prison overcrowding crisis as rising numbers of people being recalled to prison is “trapping” them in the criminal justice system, a new report has warned.
A briefing by the Prison Reform Trust found 32,404 were people recalled into custody in the year to September 2024, a rise of 27% on the previous year, with the jump particularly affecting those serving prison sentences of less than 12 months.
Some 15,211 criminals with under one-year sentences were recalled in the year to September 2024 – showing a hike of 51% on the previous year, the charity added.
Meanwhile, a snapshot figure at the end of December 2024 showed a record high of nearly one in five of the sentenced prison population now being held on recall – 12,920 people – which is expected to rise by around 13% to 13,650 by 2026 according to Ministry of Justice projections.
Recall was not used for those serving short sentences before the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014, partly because of recognition it could undermine efforts to cut reoffending and that little could be achieved in a short period of time in custody, the charity said.
Prison Reform Trust chief executive, Pia Sinha, said: “Today’s briefing highlights the urgent need for further reforms to recall and our use of short prison sentences.
“The evidence is clear – short prison sentences are less effective than other community sentences at reducing crime, and the growing use of recall is trapping people in the criminal justice system, rather than supporting them out of it.
“Further measures are needed if the Government is to avoid another prison overcrowding crisis.”
The charity boss’s recommendations included a transition towards more effective community-based solutions and abolishing the use of short, fixed-term recalls of 28 days or less.
It comes after the Government launched a sentencing review that will consider options to hand offenders tougher punishments outside of prison as part of efforts to ease overcrowding in October last year.
The review is being led by former justice secretary David Gauke, who has also stepped down as a trustee of the Prison Reform Trust while he carries out the work.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood also said there will be a change in the Risk Assessed Recall Review to combat the “unsustainable growth” in the recall population.
Those recalled to prison were previously released but re-imprisoned for breaching their licence conditions – for example, by committing further crimes or missing probation appointments.
The Prison Reform Trust added the majority of recall cases are for non-compliance rather than suspected further offending.
In the year to September 2024, 25% of all recalls involved a charge of further offending, while 76% involved non-compliance and 34% involved a failure to keep in touch, it said.
In April last year, Fixed Term Recall Statutory Order came into force which means less serious offenders serving less than 12-month sentences can go back to prison for a fixed period rather than being recalled for the remainder of their sentence, or until the Parole Board deem them safe to re-release from custody.
According to latest Ministry of Justice figures, as of February 10 the number of prisoners in England and Wales reached 86,941, the highest figure since October 21 last year (87,465), the day before more than 1,000 prisoners were released early as part of the Government’s urgent measures to ease overcrowding.
Ministers have also promised to find a total of 14,000 cell spaces in jails by 2031 amid other long-term measures to fix prisons and cut reoffending.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Keeping the public safe is our number one priority, which is why we do not hesitate to send offenders back to prison if they break the rules of their release.”
“We’ve already taken difficult but necessary immediate action to stop our prisons from collapsing. We are now implementing the long-term measures to fix our prisons, reduce reoffending and cut crime.”