LONDON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- A new scheme allowing prisoners to be released early to prevent prisons from reaching capacity took effect in England and Wales on Thursday.
Around 700 prisoners are estimated to have been released early from prisons in England and Wales on Thursday under the new rules, according to British media. A total of some 4,500 prisoners are due to be released early by June 2027.
Under the new scheme, eligible prisoners will be released after serving a third of their total custodial sentence, rather than after serving 40 or 50 percent of their sentence.
Prisons in England and Wales are struggling with overcrowding. According to the British Ministry of Justice, 87,499 people were incarcerated in prisons across England and Wales as of Monday, representing 98 percent of usable capacity.
Although early released prisoners would be subject to electronic tagging, the policy has nevertheless raised concerns. Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones warned earlier this week that the electronic monitoring regime had "not kept pace" and could create "a false sense of assurance." ■