by A convicted armed kidnapper released early from prison today called out “big Keir Starmer” as he grabbed a new £150,000 Bentley.
Daniel Dowling-Brooks, 29, was released seven weeks earlier than expected from a seven-year sentence for kidnapping and grievous bodily harm, which he was serving at HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
He was among the first of more than 1,200 prisoners serving sentences of five years or more to be released on Tuesday morning under a scheme that sees just 40 per cent of them released through their prison terms rather than halfway through.
These are the second public announcements about the emergency plan announced by ministers days after the general election, as men’s prisons in England and Wales had not run out of space before the August bank holiday weekend.
Another prisoner released from HMP Swaleside thanked Sir Keir Starmer “from the bottom of my heart” and said he had been released a year earlier than he had hoped from a four-year prison sentence. A third was picked up by a group of men in a black Rolls Royce wearing hoods.
‘I love my life’
Surrounded by a group of 10 friends outside the prison, with the strong smell of cannabis in the air, father-of-two Dowling-Brooks said: “I love my life” as he stood next to a Mercedes G Wagon, priced at £ 100,000.
He said: “I’m a father of two so I’m out now and I’m very happy. I’m going to be good. I kidnapped someone who owed money to my friend. I tied him up and had him at gunpoint. I beat him up. It was bad but not as bad as they made out.
“I’m sorry about him though. I have changed. Big up Keir Starmer, I’m glad to be released soon. I am happy. I can’t wait to go to McDonald’s. That’s where we’re all going now. I am free and can go wherever I want now. It’s amazing.
“I couldn’t believe they’re letting me out so soon. I have my girlfriend.”
His mother Sarah Dowling-Brooks, who was waiting for him, said: “He will be fine now. He has done his time. I’m very happy he’s home.”
Embracing a friend after being released at 9am, another released prisoner said: “It’s great. I can taste the fresh air. It is freedom at last. I want to thank Prime Minister Keir Starmer from the bottom of my heart.
“I thought I’d have another year but I’m out soon. I was in for four years. It was a long four years. I’m not telling you what I meant though.”
Several men could be seen walking down the road with bin bags on their shoulders, one shaking hands with a security guard, leaving the prison estate on the Isle of Sheppey, which includes HMP Swaleside, HMP Standford Hill and HMP. Elmley.
Another walked out of HMP Elmley, climbed straight into a Ford Focus and drove off. He did not explain how the car was waiting for him but said: “It’s great to be out. I can’t believe my luck. I am very grateful.
“I had another year to go. I am very happy. I’m going to drive home and see my family now. Everyone is excited to come out. It’s like a party. No one can believe their luck. I can’t wait to go down to the pub and have a pint.”
Jamal Simpson, 35, who was serving a five-year sentence at HMP Brixton in south London for ABH, was released on Tuesday morning after serving just under two years in prison.
He said: “I am very happy to be free. Everyone inside is happy to be outside. I was only told yesterday. I was surprised, very shocked, but in a good way. I’ve arranged accommodation so I’m good. It’s a relief to be outside.
“I think this early release scheme is a very good idea. I am grateful to Labor and Keir Starmer. I will definitely vote for her.”
Martin Jones, the chief probation inspector, has warned that the early release of prisoners to tackle overcrowding will be undermined by the “high level of recall” of offenders to prison.
He said that for every 100 prisoners released in the first quarter of this year, 56 were recalled to prison for re-offending or breaching their licence.
“My assessment is that there is a significant risk of the amount of space created by the SDS40 [early release] Changes will be reduced as a result of the high level of recalls that we have historically seen over the past several years,” he said.
Harry, 27, who said he was first sentenced for shoplifting a few years ago, was released last month as part of the early release scheme.
He said he was taken back to Wandsworth prison and released for a second time on Tuesday.
He said: “Apart from being drunk and disorderly, and being a k–bead, I haven’t committed any crimes worth going to jail for. It’s stupid.”
Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, said emergency measures, such as releasing prisoners early, “only buy us some time” on prison overcrowding.
“It is not going to make the problem, the original problem, disappear, and that is because the demand for prison places is going up by about 4,500 every year,” she told the BBC.
“That’s why we have to think longer term about how we reduce that, because we can’t buy our way out of this crisis.”
She announced a sentencing review, led by David Gauke, her Tory predecessor, which aims to ensure there is enough room to lock up the most dangerous criminals, encourage offenders to turn their backs on crime and punishments be extended outside the prison.
‘Prisons outside a prison’
Ms Mahmood is drawing up plans for a major expansion of community punishment as an alternative to prison where judges use technology to create virtual “prisons outside prisons”.
Courts would have powers to enforce the virtual prisons using technology such as GPS tags, smartphones and special watches that remind offenders to attend meetings with probation officers, drug treatment courses and work placements.
They are likely to be based on the current home detention curfews (HDCs), where prisoners can be released six months before their scheduled release date to serve out the remainder of their sentences while effectively being shackled and barred from leaving their homes under “house arrest” between, for example, 7pm and 7am.
Ms Mahmood is expected to announce an immediate increase in HDCs from six months to 12 months on Tuesday. This would mean that a prisoner could be released as little as a quarter of the way through their sentence to spend up to a year of their remaining time at home rather than in prison.
She is also to announce plans to make it easier and quicker for prison and probation officers to re-release offenders who have been recalled to prison for breaching their license after they have been released. Currently, it can take up to a year for the parole board to make a decision.
