Currently one in five prisoners are on recall – some 17,500 people – with the rate of recall having nearly doubled in the last 15 years. Between April and June 2024, there were three licence recalls for every four prison releases. Over 73% of recalls do not relate to a new offence.

New recommendations have now been proposed to reduce the growing numbers of people recalled to custody, as referenced in Switchback’s recent report.

The recommendations include:

1. The introduction of an independent decision maker for non-emergency recall decisions, improving accountability, independence and transparency in decision making and relieving pressure on individual probation officers to be solely accountable for the actions of individuals. 
2. The right one-to-one support for prison leavers, including access to safe, stable accommodation. 
3. Creation of a clear structure for decision making with the right escalation options, equipping probation officers with escalation options for non-compliance. This, in turn, would improve consistency and raise the threshold for recall whilst also supporting probation officers with guidance and resources.

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