After news that several criminals re-offended just days after being release as part of the Labour Government’s 'Early Release Scheme', Peter asked the Justice Secretary what she is doing to boost public confidence in the justice system:
“Jason Hoganson was wrongly released under the Government’s Early Release Scheme. Last week he was convicted of assaulting his ex-partner just a day after he was freed under this botch scheme. Does the minister agree with me this shocking case, and cases like it, continue to undermine the public’s trust and confidence in our justice system?”
The minister responded:
“I think what undermines confidence in the justice system is running out of prison places, which is the inheritance that the Conservative government left for this government. That is the mess that we are cleaning up. He will also be aware that the previous government's End of Custody Supervised License Scheme was also itself an Early Release Scheme, but without any of the specific measures on accountability, transparency and the wider set of exclusions that we introduced with the SDS 40 scheme.”
Peter remains deeply concerned about the ongoing failures of the Early Release Scheme and the impact these continue to have on public trust in the justice system.
