More day releases to help prisons bursting at the seams: NOS

Overcrowding and lack of staff could prompt prisons to put more prisoners on day release, according to justice ministry plans leaked to broadcaster NOS.

Prisoners would be allowed to work outside the prison walls wearing an electronic tag and return to the prison at night, sources said, citing junior justice minister Claudia van Bruggen.

An “action plan”, expected to be discussed at a ministerial council meeting on Friday, will propose to broaden conditions so more prisoners can participate in the scheme.

Staff-saving measures are said to include cutting back post-prison coaching for people who are released following sentences of up to 12 weeks.

If these measures are not sufficient, the cabinet may resort to releasing prisoners even earlier than the two-week reprieve currently in place. That measure could be extended to people who are serving a sentence of up to two years, instead of one.

That plan was already mooted in 2025, when prison authorities said it did not do enough to relieve pressure on prison capacity.

The cabinet has pledged an extra €75 million for next year to solve the problems but prison services said that apart from measures, “hundreds of millions” are needed to make sure prisoners serve their allotted sentences.