Refuge responds to the government’s SDS40 early release scheme

Responding to the news that the government’s SDS40 early release scheme will put domestic abuse survivors at risk, Jessica Eagelton, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Refuge, said:

“While Refuge recognises the need to ease pressure on prison estates, we are concerned the SDS40 early release scheme may come at the expense of domestic abuse survivors’ safety.

We welcome the Government’s plans to ensure some perpetrators of domestic abuse are not released early from prison, however the list of exemptions is not comprehensive enough.

As it stands, the early release exemption list will not include all domestic abuse offenders, for example, those charged with common assault. It will also not include those offenders with a history of domestic abuse who are serving a prison sentence for an unrelated offence, meaning some domestic abuse perpetrators will be released from prison early under SDS40.

Even though offenders released will be monitored by the Probation Service, previous concerns have been raised about the probation service’s ability to adequately monitor domestic abuse perpetrators. Sadly, the recent murders of Zara Aleena and Terri Harris, Connie Gent, Lacey Bennett and John Bennett have highlighted the fatal consequences of missed opportunities by probation officers to correctly assess and manage the risk of harm posed to both women and their children.

With the first tranche of releases set for September 10, we know this is a worrying time for survivors and some will need to make new plans to guarantee their safety. Survivors may not even know when their perpetrators are being released, as the insufficient Victim Contact Scheme only covers serious sexual or violent offences, where the offender receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. However, an estimated 10% of cases that result in a 12 month or less sentence are related to domestic abuse. In a further 10% of cases, the offender has been flagged by probation for domestic abuse.

We are all too aware of the grave repercussions that occur when the criminal justice system fails to recognise the real risk abusers pose to survivors’ safety. We’ve long called for all perpetrators of domestic abuse and VAWG to be exempt from early release schemes, and we are now urging the Government to extend the Victim Contact Scheme to all survivors of domestic abuse. It is also essential that training and resources for probation practitioners, alongside resources for VAWG services who may be facing additional demand as a result of early release, is provided immediately.”