Prisoners' Release: Foreign Nationals
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what processes are in place to prevent the accidental release of foreign national offenders from prisons.
Answered by Jake Richards
The Government is determined to fix the issue of mistaken releases and ensure the public is properly protected.
We are focused on fixing release and discharge processes and have already brought in the strongest ever release checks with more direct senior accountability. Going further, we have established a new Justice Performance Board to provide a comprehensive view of prison and criminal court performance including releases in error. Dame Lynne Owens is conducting an independent review to identify what further action we can take.
A team of data scientists are reviewing releases in error to gain a clear picture of what is going wrong and as part of crucial improvements to court processes, an Urgent Warrant Query Unit is being set up, staffed by court experts, so prisons can get urgent answers on what sentences have been imposed. A digital rapid response unit has already been in HMP Wandsworth to use cutting-edge technology in place of manual systems and reduce the potential for human error. These are our initial steps and we will continue to take action to stop these errors and continue the existing close co-operation that exists between the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office and the police.
On the issue of public notification when a foreign national offender is released from custody, decisions about public statements rest with the police.
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