Offenders could serve sentence in Estonian prisons to ease overcrowding

The government is considering sending criminals to Estonia to help ease the overcrowding in British prisons.

Sky News has learned that one option being looked at to deal with overcrowding in prisons is to have offenders complete their sentence in the Baltic state. Government data shows that there are currently only 1,098 available spaces in prisons in England and Wales.

Ever since Shabana Mahmood became the justice secretary, she has cautioned that overcrowding could result in a disruption of law and order if steps are not taken to reduce the strain on the system.

In the previous month, due to the aftermath of the riots following the Southport stabbings, available spots in male prisons in England and Wales decreased significantly to only 100. This is the closest the system has ever been to reaching full capacity.

The Home Office minister, Dame Angela Eagle, did not reject the suggestion. She stated that the new Labour government had "inherited a severe crisis in our prisons, with very limited space available."

In an interview with Sky News, she expressed her belief that her colleagues in the Ministry of Justice are actively looking into solutions to help alleviate the issue.

We must ensure that individuals who have been found guilty of committing violent or serious offenses are not allowed to avoid serving time in prison.

The government has already made some questionable decisions to reduce overcrowding, such as releasing prisoners early after they have completed 40% of their sentence.

In England and Wales, prisoners who are not the most serious offenders are typically released on licence after serving half of their sentence. However, starting this month, this will be shortened to 40%.

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Judges were recently advised to possibly delay the punishment of lawbreakers due to worries about too many people being kept in prison.

However, a previous top judge mentioned that the government should focus on addressing the increasing length of sentences instead of seeking solutions from other countries.

In an interview with Sky News, Lord Thomas mentioned that in the past 15 to 20 years, there have been multiple changes to sentencing laws without fully considering the overall impact. This has resulted in individuals spending longer periods of time behind bars, leading to a compounding effect.

"We must take a step back and reflect on whether our resources are allocated appropriately. Are the longer sentences actually leading to a decrease in crime? Are they having the intended impact?"

He mentioned that the proposal from Estonia is a clear example of the issues at hand. He believes that sending prisoners to a country that is not easily accessible or affordable would isolate them from their families, which is crucial for their well-being.

Learn more about this story: The Labour party may point fingers at the Conservatives, but they will soon be faced with difficult decisions. It is anticipated that issues will arise as prisoners are released early.

The suggestion of transferring offenders from British prisons to Estonia was initially proposed by former justice secretary Alex Chalk.

At last year's Conservative Party conference, he announced that the government, led by Rishi Sunak at the time, would start talking to European countries about possibly leasing prison space overseas.

The former government stated that it would only make a deal with European countries if their prison systems, such as facilities and rehabilitation programs, met the same standards as those in the UK.

It stated that its approach was consistent with actions taken by Belgium and Norway, who have utilized overseas prison facilities in the Netherlands over the past ten years.

During her initial address as the head of justice, Ms. Mahmood pointed fingers at Mr. Sunak and his associates in the Prime Minister's office, accusing them of lacking the strength to recognize the clear signals of impending trouble.

Over 10,000 inmates were let out of prison before their scheduled release dates during the time period from October of last year to June of this year, according to confidential documents that have recently been made public.

A representative from the Ministry of Justice stated that when the new government began, they were dealing with a justice system that was in a state of emergency, with prisons close to failing.

"We will keep exploring all possible solutions to expand the capacity of prisons in order to ensure dangerous criminals are incarcerated and the public is safe."