Fears of unrest as PM considers open prisons for more offenders

The government is considering relaxing the restrictions on inmates who can be sent to open prisons, despite warnings that the move could increase violence, drug abuse and the potential for riots.

Under an unannounced policy first introduced by the Conservatives and expanded by Labour, officials have already been accelerating moves from closed to open prisons in order to ease overcrowding.

Figures obtained by the Observer show that more than 140 criminals absconded from the lowest-security jails in England and Wales in just over two years, and insiders say more walked out over the Christmas period.

Official guidance states that even if inmates tell prison officers they will abscond from the prison if transferred, the move cannot be stopped unless there is “evidence or reasonable grounds to conclude that claims they will abscond are not empty threats”.

The government is considering making the temporary policy, which began on a restricted basis in March 2023 and was expanded in November, permanent. It is also looking at separate rule changes that would allow inmates to be held in open conditions up to five years before their release, rather than the current three.

Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, said that if the plans are approved “it’s inevitable that violence will rise, drug abuse will rise, absconds will rise”.

“The problem is that the open estate is supposed to be trusted conditions. They haven’t got security and they haven’t got the staff to deal with violence or trouble, so putting people with five years left into that world is going to destabilise it even further,” he added.

“The majority of people accessing the open estate now would never have previously been transferred there, but they’ve relaxed the criteria so much just to fill the space.”

Open prisons have what the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) describes as “minimal security” and aim to allow inmates to spend most of their day working, in education or visiting family to prepare them for release.

Staffing levels are lower than in secure jails, and searches and security checks are less frequent because they were designed for inmates being voluntarily transferred near the end of their sentences after prolonged good behaviour.

Former Tory justice secretary David Gauke, who is leading a review of sentencing, has backed the use of open prisons to save money and reduce reoffending. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

Former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke, who is leading an official review of sentencing policy, has backed increasing use of the jails as a way of saving money and reducing reoffending.

He said in the Times last month that “you have to make sure that they are ready” and conduct proper risk assessments. But the government’s temporary presumptive recategorisation scheme (TPRS) allows inmates to be sent to open prisons after just two weeks in a secure jail.

Internal guidance that came into force on 1 November downgraded the security requirements for the programme, meaning offenders can be moved into open conditions up to a year before release without being given a rating for good behaviour.

A document seen by the Observer states that violent offenders are only excluded if they are serving individual sentences of four years or more, meaning someone jailed for two violent crimes for three years each would be eligible.

The programme is separate from Labour’s early release scheme, which has freed more than 3,000 people since September. Fairhurst said TPRS was causing “unsuitable candidates” to be sent into open prisons, with officers reporting increased drug use, bad behaviour and organised criminality by gang members.

“They’re sending people back into the closed estate because they’re breaking the rules,” he added.

“We’ve got people refusing to work, people who are high on spice, people who are just walking out – we had absconds over Christmas. You can just walk out, but you can also walk back in with loads of drugs and alcohol on you because there’s no searches.”

Figures released under freedom of information laws show that 143 absconds were recorded between January 2022 and March last year, the most recent data the MoJ said it could share.

Unlike escapes from secure prisons, official data says open conditions mean absconds “do not involve overcoming a physical security restraint or barrier, such as that provided by a wall or fence, locks, bolts or bars”.

Tom Wheatley, president of the Prison Governors’ Association, said the risk is increasing because inmates are being transferred against their will to open prisons a long way from family and friends.

“There’s an argument that people are in prison and they go where they’re told, but open prisons are different because they’re not set up to keep people who don’t want to be there,” he added.

Wheatley called the process of selecting people for TPRS a “tick-box” exercise, saying in order to veto transfers, it requires prison governors to declare inmates who are eligible under the policy a “wholly unacceptable risk”.

While the government has said open prisons are effective at rehabilitating inmates and reducing the risk they pose, Fairhurst said that strategy only works if “we’re sending the right people there”.

“The current policy has got nothing to do with rehabilitation – this has got everything to do with freeing up space,” he added.

“Nobody wants to listen to the people who work in the open estate and take on board their concerns. They might start to listen when we have an incident like Ford.”

The 2011 riot at Ford open prison in West Sussex saw masked inmates vandalise buildings and start fires during 12 hours of disorder that caused £5m damage.

An MoJ report later revealed that only five staff were on duty at the time and that the riot had been triggered by attempts to breathalyse drunk inmates after months of worsening tensions.

An MoJ spokesperson said: “The new government inherited a prison system on the point of collapse. We have taken the necessary action to stop our prisons from overflowing and to protect the public.

“Only less serious offenders who meet strict criteria are eligible for moves to open conditions. The Prison Service can exclude anyone who can’t be managed safely in a category D prison.

“Those who abscond face serious consequences, including being returned to closed conditions and serving an additional two years.”