Up to 30 criminals let out on temporary release every day due to overcrowding
Release rates are running at an average of 14%, meaning one in every seven prisoners meant to be serving a custodial sentence is actually out of prison at any given time.
But it has been as high as 18% recently and, with the next big prison extension project not scheduled to be open for at least another year, the number of releases is expected to remain large for the foreseeable future.
Temporary release is used in some cases for the purposes for which it was introduced – to allow prisoners nearing the end of their sentence to participate in training, take on work or jobs or to attend to personal matters on compassionate grounds. But the Irish Prison Service admits it also uses the scheme to free up spaces when prisons cannot cope with the numbers of newly convicted prisoners being sent by the courts.
A spokesman said: “We use temporary release as a mechanism to relieve pressure and there is no doubt there is pressure on the numbers at the moment.”
The 15 prisons have just under 4,100 spaces but the prison population hit more than 5,000 in recent months and hundreds of inmates have had to be released early to deal with the situation – 910 were released in the month up to last Wednesday.
These numbers do not take into account a further group of prisoners released early because a portion of their sentence was remitted for good behaviour – as in the case of Larry Murphy – or was suspended as is often the case with long sentences.
The spokesman stressed that all candidates for temporary release were assessed and they would be considered unlawfully at large and subject to immediate arrest if they did not fulfil the conditions of their release. Conditions include staying sober, being of good behaviour and keeping the peace.
“Public safety is paramount. Temporary release is done on a case-by-case basis with decisions based on the particular prisoner’s circumstances and behaviour. We would be guided a lot by what the probation services would say about a prisoner and by the prison governor’s view.”
The Irish Penal Reform Trust said the use of temporary release to free up space, while understandable, was not useful in helping to reintegrate prisoners into society as was its intended purpose.
Director Liam Herrick also said the practice raised questions about the kind of people being imprisoned. “A lot of them should never have been in prison in the first place. They are in for traffic offences, non-payment of fines, debts etc. We need to look at the sense of sending people like that to jail, especially when they’re going to be turned out almost as soon as they get there.”
