Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, said: “The decision to not exclude domestic abuse perpetrators from this scheme is wrong and puts victims lives at risk.
“As I told the Lord Chancellor just last week, the danger perpetrators pose to their victim should not be underestimated. These are individuals who are fixated on their victim and will stop at nothing to control and cause harm.
“While ministers have rightly recognised the need to improve communication with victims impacted and given a welcome injection of funding to specialist services, measures that will keep domestic abuse victims safe still appear to be an afterthought.
“It is critical that no abuser is released in October unless I am confident that victims’ safety is not being compromised. This means gathering information about the risk perpetrators pose to victims as part of a thorough risk assessment before they leave prison and providing probation the resources they need to manage more offenders rigorously in the community.
“I will continue to work with ministers to ensure victims and survivors of domestic abuse do not continue to bear the brunt of this crisis.”
ENDS
Notes to Editor
- When the Labour government – under Keir Starmer – introduced the Standard Determinate Sentence 40% (SDS40) early release scheme to alleviate the prison capacity crisis it included specific protections for victims of domestic abuse.
- This included exempting offenders serving sentences for sex offences irrespective of sentence length; serious violent offences with a sentence of four years or more; specified offences linked to domestic abuse irrespective of sentence length (including stalking, coercive or controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation); as well as offences concerning national security.
- During the passage of the Sentencing Act 2026 these protections were not carried forward meaning these offenders will now be released early.
- Government figures show that prison recalls in England and Wales have increased to over 51,000 per year, with most recalls resulting from breaches of licence conditions, up 28% on the previous 12 months.
- Domestic abuse perpetrators are often released with license conditions which can include not contacting their victim or visiting certain areas, however they are known to frequently breach these conditions to carry out their campaign of abuse. Additional measures included in the Sentencing Act mean that the vast majority of offenders recalled to prison will now be re-released automatically after 56 days (around eight weeks). A breach of license condition against their victim will not prevent a perpetrator from being automatically re-released.
- Research into domestic homicide reviews found that over half of all victims who die at the hands of a partner or family member were subject to coercive control in the lead up to their death. Offenders convicted of coercive control are now set to be released early.
- Non-fatal strangulation is one of the strongest indicators of high-risk, potentially lethal domestic abuse behaviour. IFAS analysed 396 published Domestic Homicide Reviews and identified 74 cases with a history of non-fatal strangulation (NFS). In 49% of the DHRs with a history of non-fatal strangulation, the perpetrator of the non-fatal strangulation went on to kill the same victim.
- Recent figures suggest around 30% of people being managed by probation are current or former perpetrators of domestic abuse, although the true figure is likely to be higher.