A second wave of early releases began on 15 October, with around 650 more prisoners freed from jails across England and Wales as part of the government’s push to relieve severe overcrowding. Some of those released had served only around a third of their sentence. The releases included prisoners from HMP Berwyn and HMP Cardiff, and followed the first wave of roughly 700 releases on 1 October, some of whom have already been recalled to custody.
The scheme responds to a prison system under severe strain: at the end of August 2026, England and Wales held 86,843 prisoners, close to 98% of usable capacity, with fewer than 2,100 places free and almost a quarter of prisoners held in overcrowded cells. Officials expect the population to pass 100,000 by 2030 unless the trend is reversed.
Ministers point to a 28% rise in licence recalls and remand numbers 68% above 2019 levels as key drivers of the crisis, alongside years of insufficient prison building. The government has committed to 14,000 new prison places by 2031, but with that capacity still years away, further early-release waves are expected over the coming year.