Early release: ‘October delay must be used to deliver safeguards for victims’

Given the concerns raised by me and others in recent weeks, delaying implementation until October was a necessary step. This additional time must now be used to urgently deliver the protections needed to keep victims and the public safe.

For many victims, the prospect of an offender being released earlier than expected has been a source of shock, distress and uncertainty. Many have already been let down by poor communication, receiving little clarity about what these changes could mean for them or when they might happen.

The Lord Chancellor must now work at pace to rectify this and use the coming weeks to ensure victims receive the necessary information, support and reassurance they need to feel safe, while agencies across the criminal justice system put in place robust arrangements for assessing and managing risk.

The Government has announced exclusions for those convicted of rape and certain child sexual abuse offences. While this will be well received by some victims, most will not fall within those categories, and exclusions alone cannot guarantee victim or public safety. Effective risk management, meaningful licence conditions, proper supervision and timely, trauma-informed communication and support remain critical.

This crisis has once again laid bare a justice system trapped in a cycle of short-term fixes and long-term neglect. Time and again, victims and families are left paying the price when problems are ignored until they become emergencies.

The Government has now bought itself some time. But unless this moment is matched by the leadership, investment and reform needed to address the root causes of these failures, it will have done little more than postpone the next crisis.