Two men responsible for PC Andrew Harper’s death will be blocked from the early prison release under changes announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Here’s why…
Why were the killers being released?
Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were sentenced to 13 years in custody for the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper in 2019.
The men were due to be released, along with 5,000 other prisoners, under plans to ease jail overcrowding, starting this year.
The number dropped from 6,000 after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and “serious” child sex offenders.
How has the PM blocked their release?
Burnham initially resisted calls to limit the scheme further after it emerged that Bowers and Cole would be eligible from next year.
But under changes announced on Sunday, anyone convicted of unlawful killing, including all forms of manslaughter and death by dangerous driving, will be excluded.
When it emerged that his killers might be eligible for early release, PC Harper’s widow Lissie Harper said: “It is deplorable to me that we have reached a point where releasing prisoners early is even considered acceptable. We speak of justice, accountability and standing with victims, yet decisions like this do the opposite.”
After announcing the decision to block PC Harper’s killers from early release, Burnham told the : “I heard obviously what Andrew Harper’s family were saying, I mean who couldn’t? Nobody would want a position to arise where those guilty of killing a police officer are let out early from prison.”
Harper’s force, Thames Valley Police, said the announcement would be “welcomed by many across policing and our communities”.
How will the PM address prison overcrowding?
Following his decision to change the early release scheme, Burnham conceded that “hundreds” more people would stay in prison, meaning additional space will need to be found in a system that is more than 97% full in England and Wales.
The PM has since suggested that finding extra space would be achieved in part through ending Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences, or IPPs, which were given out between 2005 and 2012 to offenders who pose a significant risk of causing serious harm to the public.
After serving the minimum sentence, the prisoner can be released once the Parole Board is satisfied they no longer need to be confined for public safety, meaning many are being held indefinitely.
According to Ministry of Justice data, 2,271 people are serving IPP sentences as of June.
The PM has also toyed with the idea of returning foreign prisoners to their home countries to make up the extra room. The Government says there were 10,134 foreign nationals in custody as of late June, representing 12% of the prison population.