Early jail release scheme leads to rise in burglaries

Prolific burglars, released under a new government scheme, are targeting households in about five boroughs.

The revelations have led politicians to call for the scrapping of the "appalling" policy - one of the first to be introduced under Gordon Brown last June.

Burglaries in Greenwich, Harrow and Waltham Forest have shot up by as much as 36 per cent in the first three months of this financial year, compared with the same period last year, according to official Met figures.

The Met has now launched an investigation and held meetings with ministers to discuss the "end of custody licence" scheme, which allows criminals serving less than four-year terms to be released up to 18 days early.

There is also concern that prison overcrowding is leading to lower sentences. Official figures show 492 further crimes had been committed across Britain by those freed, while 166 criminals recalled to prison for reoffending remain on the run.

The criminals to have benefited so far include more than 2,300 burglars, 600 robbers and 6,000 thieves. Some are being sent to £250-a-night bed-and-breakfast hotels after being freed.

Met figures show there are now more than seven burglaries a day in Greenwich - a rise of 15 per cent on last year - while Harrow and Waltham Forest have seen jumps of 28 and 36 per cent respectively. Ministry of Justice figures show 2,631 prisoners were released early on licence in April alone - the equivalent of 88 every day.

Of these, 191 were released from prisons in London - bringing the number set free early in the capital to 2,246.

Borough commanders, prevented from publicly voicing concerns by Met rules, told the Standard the programme was undermining their work. One said: "We know of criminals that have walked out of prison and gone straight back to burgling people's homes. They are prolific offenders and just because their crimes have not involved someone being hurt does not mean they should be released early. When the public sees something like this happening they naturally blame police. What they do not realise is that sometimes it is caused by a policy."

Senior officers fear criminals are going unpunished because the prisons are almost at capacity. One said: "We are doing our job, catching criminals and locking them up but they are being let out to commit more crimes."

Shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said: "This appalling policy, which has already seen more than 26,000 criminals released early simply because the Government has failed to provide enough prison places, should be scrapped immediately."

The Met is now targeting criminals as soon as they are let out of jail. Some areas, including Sutton, have seen a drop in burglaries. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "So far the data collected about 'end of custody licence' indicates the scheme is working well and the rate has been lower than expected. Just one per cent have been notified as allegedly offending."