Domestic Abuse Commissioner warns survivor safety is still at risk as the early release of perpetrators begins

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, has issued a stark warning to the government that measures to protect victims in the wake of the early release scheme are still not in place, as the first offenders leave prison.

Throughout the passing of the Sentencing Act, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner repeatedly warned that failing to exclude all domestic abuse perpetrators from the scheme risks putting victims in danger and undermining confidence in the criminal justice system.

Despite the government acting to expand the list of offenders exempt from the scheme to include those convicted of rape, grooming, serious child sexual offences and manslaughter, many domestic abuse perpetrators remain eligible for early release.

To combat continued concerns about survivors’ safety, ministers spent the summer reassuring victims that thorough risk assessments would be conducted before offenders were released, alongside announcing an expanded tagging and monitoring programme, which would see a presumption to tag all offenders on release.

However, the Commissioner remains deeply concerned that these key safeguards are still not in place. She says this is leaving victims in the dark about what protections they can rely on to keep them safe, and whether agencies have the resources they need to safely manage more offenders released into the community. This follows a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) this week, which revealed that almost half of electronic tags are not being fitted on time, putting victims directly in harm’s way.

The Commissioner is calling on the Prime Minister and the government to show leadership and be honest with victims about how perpetrators are being managed in the community. She is also urging ministers to provide probation with the staff and resourcing it needs to keep victims safe, alongside providing specialist domestic abuse services with the long-term sustainable funding needed, so they can be there for every survivor.

Dame Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, said: 

“As the first perpetrators start to be released, survivors across the country will be looking over their shoulder and living in fear because the government and our criminal justice system has failed to protect them. 

“It is frankly shameful that as the scheme begins – which ministers have had months to prepare for – I still have no assurance that the danger perpetrators pose has been properly considered and assessed with meaningful input from victims and the specialist services supporting them.

“I have heard from survivors who feel they have been treated as an afterthought throughout this process. Many are now being forced to make their own plans to protect themselves, including uprooting their lives, because they simply do not trust that sufficient safeguards are in place to manage their abuser safely in the community.

“Ultimately, we cannot ignore the fact that the early release scheme has caused untold damage to victims’ confidence in the justice system. Especially when survivors are now likely to face a longer fight for justice than their perpetrator will spend in prison.

“The Prime Minister and this government must take urgent steps to address this. If we are serious about achieving the commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, victim safety must come first. That means giving probation the resources it needs to safely manage more offenders in the community, alongside providing long-term, sustainable funding for specialist domestic abuse services, so they can continue supporting survivors now and into the future.”

ENDS  

Notes to Editor 

1. The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, along with partners in the specialist domestic abuse sector, continue to call for:
   1. The government to publish data on the number of domestic abuse perpetrators released under each tranche of the early release scheme.
   2. Ensure that risk assessments conducted before any abuser is released includes input from victims and the specialist services supporting them. This information must then be used to develop a robust plan for how the offender will be managed safely within the community.
   3. The government to provide a substantial funding package for probation and specialist domestic abuse services to underpin robust changes to the risk assessment process, which victims and specialist services have fed into.
2. Electronic Monitoring in Practice – Early Briefing – HM Inspectorate of Probation
3. 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.  
4. 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.  
5. 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.  
6. 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.

6. Domestic abuse perpetrators are often released with licence 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. 
7. Additional measures included in the Sentencing Act mean that most offenders recalled to prison will now be re-released automatically after 56 days (around eight weeks). A breach of licence condition against their victim will not prevent a perpetrator from being automatically re-released.  
8. Last year, the government allocated £550 million over three years to victims’ services. This was topped up with an additional £18.9 million in September 2026. However, sector organisations have warned that rising inflation, increases to the National Living Wage and higher employer National Insurance contributions mean funding is not keeping pace with growing costs and demand.