Rejected petition: Release lower risk prisoners before higher risk.
Rejected on
The government have decided they need to make space in prisons for new prisoners, starting by making space by releasing high risk prisoners, insane and dangerous decisions.
This decision is dangerous and ludicrous. Let alone an insult to the people that are a lower risk, they will also now lose tag and have no idea when they will be able to go home, see their families and restart their lives.
Why would anyone think it is a better idea to release high risk inmates compared to low risk?
Higher risk inmates having years suddenly taken off their sentences are not prepared nor ready for release and they’re being set up to fail.
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
We are not clear about the action sought by this petition.
The changes made by the Sentencing Act 2026 will mean that most prisoners serving the most common type of prison sentence (a fixed, standard determinate sentence) will be automatically released earlier than they would otherwise have been. The release point for these prisoners will move from 40% or half of their custodial term to one third for some prisoners and from two thirds to half for others. The changes will not apply to prisoners serving sentences for certain offences, such as manslaughter.
More information about the offences excluded is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a9343a7f5b35599aec18f9e/Sentencing_Act_Offence_Exclusions_September_2026.pdf
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.