More people were recalled to jails in England and Wales in the first half of this year than were released, despite government efforts to reduce the prison population, according to figures released on Thursday.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data shows that ۱۲,۳۳۸ people were recalled to custody between the beginning of April and the end of June, while ۱۲,۲۷۸ people were released. It continues a trend set between January and March, when ۱۳,۱۹۳ people were returned to prison and ۱۲,۹۷۷ released.
A total of ۵۲,۷۱۶ prisoners were put back behind bars in the year to June after breaching the terms of their licence – ۲۷% up on the previous ۱۲-month total.
The high recall rate is a key contributor to the prison capacity crisis and helped to prompt early release schemes earlier this month.
The MoJ figures also show ۷۹,۲۷۴ inmates were freed early from prison between September ۲۰۲۴ and June ۲۰۲۶ under emergency measures brought in by the government to try to tackle the overcrowding crisis.
The move, known as the SDS۴۰ early release scheme, cut the proportion of sentences some prisoners must serve in England and Wales from ۵۰% to ۴۰%. It is one of several policy changes that are likely to have contributed to the rise in recalls, the MoJ said.
The emergency measures were replaced with a permanent scheme for early releases from ۱ October under the Sentencing Act ۲۰۲۶.
The Howard League for Penal Reform said the “alarmingly high rate of recalls is making a terrible problem even worse”, as it called on the government to find a “lasting solution” to the overcrowding crisis.
Rob Preece, the head of communications at the Howard League, said: “The prison system is under enormous pressure, with chronic overcrowding, staff shortages and awful conditions that make it close to impossible to rehabilitate people effectively. Imposing ever longer sentences has led us to this crisis, but the alarmingly high rate of recalls is making a terrible problem even worse.”
Enver Solomon, the chief executive of the social justice charity Nacro, said the number of recalls must be urgently addressed to avoid prison spaces being filled up again by people sent back to jail.
“A significant proportion of those released immediately go back to chaotic lives involving addiction, mental health problems and homelessness. Without adequate support and stable accommodation in place as soon as they step outside the gate, it is very difficult to break the revolving cycle of going back into prison too many are caught up in,” he said.
The MoJ said it was “vital those who break the rules can be hauled back to prison”. The department said the rise in recalls amid SDS۴۰ releases was also likely to have been influenced by policy changes that result in most offenders being taken back into custody for ۵۶ days before being released again – known as a fixed-term recall – instead of being held until the end of their sentence.
Incidents of self-harm and violence have remained high as pressure on the prison system has grown. Safety in custody statistics showed that ۳۶۰ people in prison died in the ۱۲ months to the end of September ۲۰۲۶, including ۶۶ people who died in circumstances recorded as “self-inflicted”.
Prisons recorded ۶۸,۲۳۱ incidents of self-harm in the ۱۲ months to the end of June ۲۰۲۶, at a rate of one every eight minutes. Self-harm incidents fell by ۱۲% in men’s prisons and fell by ۳.۸% in women’s prisons.
A separate dataset showed that the number of serious offenders on probation who were charged with a serious further offence had increased for the third successive year, to a record number.
Of ۲۸۱ serious offenders charged, ۱۱۹ were registered sexual offenders, ۱۲۸ were murderers, and four were terrorists or posed a terror risk, according to figures on multi-agency public protection arrangements.
