739 criminals escaped, mistakenly released from UK prisons: Report

No fewer than 739 criminals, including rapists and drug pushers, have escaped custody or got released by mistake over the last 10 years in the UK, a new report has shown.
The Labour Party exposed the rot in the criminal justice system in the UK after releasing the figures of prisoners that escaped and those who regained their freedom due to mistakes made by the prison staff.
It was discovered that 739 prisoners had reentered society since 2012. In 2022 alone, 12 escaped, and 54 got released in error.
In one case, a sex offender released by mistake, raped a minor and sexually assaulted another woman after he got out of prison.
“This Conservative Government can’t do the basic job of keeping criminals locked up,” said Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Steve Reed.
Mr Reed added, “The public will be horrified and outraged that so many violent criminals, sex offenders, robbers, thieves and drug dealers have been let out by mistake.”
He stressed that “Dominic Raab must make sure criminals remain where they belong – behind bars, serving their sentences.”Â
However, Mr Reed noted that ” after a flood of bullying allegations,” Mr Raab “seems more interested in protecting his job than the public.”
William Fernandez, 26, detained at HMP Wormwood Scrubs where he awaited trial for grabbing a woman’s bum without consent, was released by mistake in March 2021.
He thereafter committed two other grievous sexual offences in Bristol.
Mark Fairhurst, who chairs the Prison Officers’ Association, stressed the actual figures might be higher, noting that more criminals escape from open prisons every year.
Mr Fairhurst blamed the errors on the shortage of administrative staff bedevilling the prison system.
“We have got a severe shortage of admin staff, so we have got inexperienced staff calculating sentences,” Mr Fairhurst told the Daily Express. “We have got a lot of agency staff, and they are not getting the correct training.”
Mr Fairhurst further disclosed that the escapees were exploiting a loophole the government had unknowingly created in the eligibility rules for open prisons.
“If you have got previous abscondings on your record, you can still be sent to the open estate. It used to be that you could only be sent to an open prison in the final 18 months of your sentence. Now it is three years,” Mr Fairhurst explained. “A lot of career criminals are exploiting that system.”
The report has put ministers under pressure to urgently look into the matter and emplace tight security measures to prevent such mistakes.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Africa
Anti-Terrorism: U.S AFRICOM, Morocco to establish tech-driven training, experimentation centre in Africa
Mr Anderson said the centre would increase readiness and advance capabilities of both nations.

Sport
Argentina stun England to set up World Cup final clash with Spain
Spain defeated France 2-0 at the Dallas Stadium on Tuesday to qualify for the final.Â

NationWide
FG enhances international recognition of Nigerian passports
Mr Akinlabi said the milestone was achieved on July 13.Â

Heading 3
FG, states, LGs shared N2.550 trillion June revenue: FAACÂ
Mr Mokwa said the revenue was shared at the July meeting of the committee.

Heading 2
14-year-old boy charged with terror offences targeting London mosques
The boy was arrested on 9 July on suspicion of criminal damage to a vehicle.

States
Delta content creator arrested after alleged rape victim dies by suicide
According to the victim, Mr Ogbonna initially demanded sex in exchange for financial help.Â





