What are the numbers behind prison releases?

Recent cases of wrongfully released prisoners have put a fresh spotlight on the demands facing the justice system.

The prison’s weight, staffing levels and government funding have all been called into question.

There were 262 prisoners who were accidentally released In the 12 months to March 2025, compared to 115 last year.

Of the 121 prisons across England and Wales, 72 will release at least one inmate in error by 2024-25.

The total number of releases also increased – but not by much.

There will be more than 57,000 releases of prisoners who have completed their custodial sentences in England and Wales in 2024-25. This includes a period where some prisoners are released after serving 40% of their sentence.

The year before there were about 50,000 releases. That’s an increase in the number of releases of about 13% – a lot less than the number of errors.

The majority of accidental releases are from a prison itself.

London’s Pentonville prison released the most in 2024-25 – 16, up from six the year before.

To put that in context, Pentonville will have a population of just under 1,200 as of March 2025. This is the equivalent of admitting about 100 prisoners a year.

Another category of wrongful release comes from “Estase areas” – places where prisoners are taken between prisons, and from court hearings or removal centers.

Around one in 10 was released by mistake from the areas, the figures show.

However, it is not clear from the data how many have been convicted or are in custody on Remand, awaiting a trial or trial hearing.

By the end of June 2025, there will be a total of 36,627 people working in prison service establishments across England and Wales.

That’s 787 fewer people than a year ago, but above the staff numbers of previous years.

Yet staff turnover is a persistent issue.

In the year to June, almost 13% of staff remained in the prison service, almost twice the 7.1% turnover rate across the civil service.

Half spent a year or less on the job.

Disease rates are also affected by surgery.

In the year to June, prison staff missed an average of 12 working days due to illness. In two out of five cases, the absence was not related to a mental health issue.

For comparison, Average UK workers Miss more than four days a year due to illness.

The wrongful releases lead to new questions about government funding for the justice system.

Former Conservative Home Secretary Alex Chalk said the MoJ, which is responsible for prisons, the probation system, courts and legal aid at work and pensions (DWP) every two weeks “.

The MoJ’s spending this year is around £13bn According to the National Audit Office – compared to the department for work and pensions (DWP), which spend almost £276bn in 2023-24.

And, according to the Institute for fiscal studies in Triyahon, the MoJ is expected to be 5.6% smaller than in 2010 at the end of the current parliament.