The government’s controversial early release scheme has already been Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s biggest challenge.
We hear stark warnings from probation officers ahead of the imminent release of thousands of prisoners, as families speak out about the human cost of probation service failures.
The controversial policy has already sparked criticism from both senior police officers and victims of crime.
Probation officers are also coming forward to warn that they don't have the capacity to deal with such a big increase in caseload and that the plans are a “disaster waiting to happen”.
Whistleblowers in the service and families for whom the worst has already happened tell us their worst fears.
In a statement, the Ministry of Justice told us that protecting the public was their top priority.
It said that the government has invested £700 million in probation, including recruiting nearly 1,400 new probation officers and tagging a record number of offenders.
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