Eight men released early from prison under the Government’s scheme have been arrested again in Greater Manchester, police have said.
Greater Manchester Police arrested five of the men for allegedly breaching criminal orders or on suspicion of robbery, drug offences and domestic violence. The other three were arrested for alleged breaches of their licence conditions.
The arrests followed the release of about 700 prisoners on 1 October, including around 50 from Manchester, in the first phase of the Labour-led early release scheme.
GMP Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said the force was working “closely with partners to ensure that the most robust plans are in place to ensure offenders are adhering to their conditions”.
He added: “As with any offending in GM, where there is a report of a crime we will respond promptly to take positive action to protect victims and pursue criminals.
“This work continues by our hard-working officers and staff who are playing a vital role in keeping the public safe.”
The first group released had been serving sentences of up to 19 months. More than 4,500 prisoners are expected to be released under the scheme by June next year.
The Ministry of Justice said: “We inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse. If we had failed to act, the police would have been forced to halt arrests.”
The eight arrests came after Michael Bogle, a 38-year-old registered sex offender, was jailed again following 11 offences in five days after his early release.
Bogle stole more than £100 of washing powder from a Sainsbury’s store 24 hours after leaving prison, then shoplifted a further £98.85 of detergent from Tesco over the following three days. He was also seen entering the Sainsbury’s store three times despite being banned from going near it.
He had served 78 days for breaching a criminal behaviour order and a 32-week suspended sentence for shoplifting. As he left HMP Wandsworth on 1 October, he said: “Keep the early release going, it’s good.”
The Ministry of Justice said public safety would not be jeopardised and pointed to plans for more Neighbourhood Police officers, £18.5 billion in police funding and record investment in probation.
It said the Government was also introducing tighter controls for offenders released on licence, including restriction zones, expanded electronic tagging and a system allowing victims to have a say in licence conditions.
