More prisoners recalled to jail than released in England and Wales

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.

Ministry of Justice data released on Thursday shows 12,338 people were recalled to custody between the beginning of April and the end of June, while 12,278 people were released.

The same trend appeared between January and March, when 13,193 people were returned to prison and 12,977 were 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 percent up on the previous 12-month total.

The figures identify the high recall rate as a key contributor to the prison capacity crisis, helping to prompt early release schemes earlier this month.

Under the SDS40 emergency early release scheme, 79,274 inmates were freed early between September 2024 and June 2026. The scheme cut the proportion of some sentences that must be served from 50 percent to 40 percent.

The emergency measures were replaced from 1 October with a permanent early release scheme 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. Its head of communications, Rob Preece, said the prison system is under enormous pressure, with chronic overcrowding, staff shortages and awful conditions.

The Ministry of Justice said it is vital those who break the rules can be hauled back to prison. It stressed that policy changes resulting in most offenders being held for 56 days before release again, rather than until the end of their sentence, are also likely to have influenced the rise.

Safety in custody statistics showed 360 people in prison died in the 12 months to the end of September 2026, including 66 recorded as self-inflicted. Prisons recorded 68,231 incidents of self-harm in the 12 months to the end of June 2026.