Prisoners are being sent back to jail by the probation service because it's the "easiest thing to do", rather than solely for public protection, the chief inspector of probation has told Sky News.
In the three months to September, nearly a quarter (24%) of recall cases involved a charge of further offending, with almost three-quarters (73%) of people recalled for "non-compliance" with license conditions.
Martin Jones cited caseload "pressure" in the service meaning officers are recalling people to jail to get them out of their "worry zone", even if it has "relatively little impact on the protection of the public", causing "overcrowded prisons" for "limited benefit.
Changes to the recall process in April also mean that less serious offenders serving sentences of under 12 months will go back to prison for a fixed short period.
These include longer sentences meaning lengthier license supervision periods on release, higher caseloads, and structural changes to the service meaning probation monitoring is required for all offenders.
