Justice minister promises digital overhaul of ‘archaic’ paper system partly blamed for average of 22 people being wrongly freed each month
Prison governors in England have been summoned to an urgent meeting with ministers as the government comes under pressure over the wrongful release of two more prisoners, including a convicted foreign sex offender.
Alex Davies-Jones, a justice minister, told broadcasters she was “furious” about the “unacceptable” situation where an average of 22 people are wrongly released from prisons each month in England and Wales.
She said the “archaic” paper-based system within the prison service was partly to blame and that the government was introducing a “crack team” of digital experts to overhaul it.
She said the “reams and reams of paperwork” led to situations where people who had the same name or many aliases were mixed up. She also pointed to the impact of chronic spending cuts to the criminal justice system.
