Met chief warns early release of domestic abusers and stalkers risks public safety
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he was “deeply worried” about the early release of domestic abusers and stalkers, citing the effect on victims and the risks to public safety. He said the policy reflected a longstanding mismatch between sentencing decisions and prison capacity, while declining to defend or criticise the Government’s choices.
More than 700 prisoners were released earlier this month under a scheme intended to ease overcrowding in England and Wales, and more than 4,500 inmates are expected to be eligible over the next ten months. Rowley said London police are handling around 100 breaches of electronic-tag conditions each day; more than 95 per cent of those arrested over breaches are bailed again on the same conditions. He also said the Met issues 1,600 arrest warrants a month, twice the previous figure.
- Rowley says early release is putting victims on edge.
- London sees around 100 tag breaches reported each day.
- More than 95% of arrested breach suspects are bailed again.
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England and Wales has experienced significant prison overcrowding for several years. To address this, the government introduced an early release scheme allowing some prisoners to leave before completing their full sentences.
The scheme affects prisoners convicted of various offences, including domestic abuse and stalking. These crimes raise particular concerns because victims are often identifiable individuals living in the same community as the released prisoner, potentially allowing renewed contact.
Released prisoners must comply with strict conditions such as electronic monitoring and regular reporting to police. When prisoners breach these conditions, police must investigate and potentially arrest them. This creates additional operational demands for law enforcement whilst raising questions around victim safety and public protection.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The prison system faces a genuine and long-standing capacity crisis that destabilises institutions, endangers staff and inmates, and undermines rehabilitation. Early release schemes, whilst imperfect, address an unsustainable structural problem accumulated over years of policy decisions. Tackling overcrowding improves conditions for remaining prisoners and creates space for more effective management of those in custody. The alternative of indefinite warehousing creates equally serious public safety and operational risks.
The case against
Domestic abuse and stalking are particularly grave offences because victims face ongoing, direct threat and vulnerability. Early release of such offenders, especially when electronic monitoring proves manifestly inadequate—with 95 per cent of breach arrestees re-bailed on identical conditions—subordinates victim safety to administrative expediency. Sentences should reflect both public protection and accountability to those harmed. The escalating breach rates and warrant figures suggest the infrastructure to safely manage released offenders simply does not exist.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Met police chief Mark Rowley is ‘very worried’ about Labour’s early release of domestic abusers and stalkers – and says freeing criminals on electronic tags does not work”.