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 12,338 people were recalled to custody between the beginning of April and the end of June, while 12,278 people were released. It continues a trend set between January and March, when 13,193 people were returned to prison and 12,977 released.
A total of 52,716 prisoners were put back behind bars in the year to June after breaching the terms of their licence – 27% up on the previous 12-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 79,274 inmates were freed early from prison between September 2024 and June 2026 under emergency measures brought in by the government to try to tackle the overcrowding crisis.
The move, known as the SDS40 early release scheme, cut the proportion of sentences some prisoners must serve in England and Wales from 50% to 40%. 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 1 October under the Sentencing Act 2026.
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.
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 SDS40 releases was also likely to have been influenced by policy changes that result in most offenders being taken back into custody for 56 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 360 people in prison died in the 12 months to the end of September 2026, including 66 people who died in circumstances recorded as “self-inflicted”. Prisons recorded 68,231 incidents of self-harm in the 12 months to the end of June 2026, at a rate of one every eight minutes.
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