More people returned to prisons in England and Wales than were released — The Guardian

In England and Wales, more people were returned to prison than released in the first half of 2026, despite government measures to reduce the number of inmates. This was reported by The Guardian, citing data from the UK Ministry of Justice.

Returns to prison

From April to June, 12,338 people were returned to prison, while 12,278 were released. The same trend was seen from January to March: 13,193 people were returned to prison, while 12,977 were released.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 52,716 prisoners were taken back into custody for breaching licence conditions after release. This is 27% more than in the previous 12 months. The high number of returns is one of the factors behind the prison capacity crisis in England and Wales.

Early release and safety

According to the Ministry of Justice, 79,274 prisoners were released early under emergency measures from September 2024 to June 2026. The SDS40 programme reduced the proportion of a sentence that some convicted offenders had to serve in prison from 50% to 40%.

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The department noted that policy changes may have affected the increase in returns to custody. In particular, most offenders are held in prison for 56 days after being returned and then released again, rather than being held until the end of their imposed sentence. From 1 October 2026, the emergency measures were replaced by a permanent early-release system under the Sentencing Act 2026.

In the 12 months to the end of September 2026, 360 people died in prisons, including 66 people whose deaths were recorded in circumstances related to self-harm. During the 12 months to the end of June 2026, 68,231 incidents of self-harm were recorded in institutions — an average of one incident every eight minutes. The number of such incidents decreased by 12% in men's prisons and by 3.8% in women's prisons.

The Howard League for Penal Reform called on the government to find a long-term solution to overcrowding. Separate data also showed that the number of serious offenders on probation charged with a new serious crime rose for the third consecutive year to a record level: there were 281 such cases.