BACK ON THE STREETS

With some prisoners across England and Wales being granted early release, we investigate the impact this is having on victims...

- MISHAAL KHAN, CHELSEA HEATLEY

Imagine being the victim of a crime, bravely seeking justice and feeling relieved to see the perpetrator put behind bars.

But then imagine discovering that far from serving their full sentence, they are being released early. And all because prisons simply can't cope with the number of prisoners.

Last year, thousands of prisoners were released early under emergency conditions to try and ease the overcrowding situation, after serving just 40% of their sentence (the usual being 50%). And now, offenders could be eligible for early release after serving just a third of their sentence, under new reforms proposed earlier this year.

Across England and Wales, there is room for no more than around 81,500 people in prison, but there are currently just over 87,000 and the number is expected to rise. It is projected that there could be as many as 114,800 prisoners by March 2028.

But while the new scheme, which is modelled on one that was used in Texas in 2011, may help with the overcrowding problem inside prisons, does it consider the victims too?

Woman's Own takes a look behind the headlines and speaks to a woman about the impact it had on her when the man who assaulted her was released early...

'It was the final cruel blow