Current state of overcrowding at HMP Doncaster revealed after early release scheme in wake of Rotherham riots

The release of the figures are the first since the introduction of the government’s early release scheme following the Rotherham riots.

Around 1,700 inmates were released from prisons across England and Wales on September 10, 2024, with the scheme being eligible to those who had served 40 per cent of their sentence. Those freed would otherwise have been eligible for release at the halfway point of their sentences.

The scheme came into force as official figures showed the prison population had reached 88,521 - the highest ever level since the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) began publishing weekly figures in 2011; and the chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said the Government ‘had no choice but to do something’ about overcrowding. It also followed the acceleratated prosecution of those involved with the summer riots, which took place in Rotherham - along with a number of locations across the country - after misinformation was disseminated in the wake of a fatal stabbing in Southport that claimed the lives of three young girls.

HMP Doncaster - which is Yorkshire’s largest prison and the closest to Sheffield Crown Court - had just three of its 1,165 spaces available in the weeks following the riots, figures taken on August 30, 2024 showed. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has now released the first prison population figures to be taken after the early release scheme was introduced, showing the impact it has had on the country’s overcrowded jails.

They show that the number of available spaces at HMP Doncaster had increased from three to 26 by September 27, 2024, the date on which the newly-released figures were calculated.

The number of people charged, and convicted, in connection with the Rotherham riots on August 4 continues to rise, with a total of 69 adults and juveniles sentenced in connection with the riots so far.

Get Sheffield’s biggest stories as they’re happening - sign up for the new breaking newsletter

The vast majority of adults sentenced in connection with the disorder have received immediate custodial sentences.

It broke out after scores of anti-immigration protesters battled with police outside The Holiday Inn Express hotel in Manvers, Rotherham, which then housed asylum seekers.

Sixty police officers are estimated to have been injured during the course of the incident, along with three police dogs and a police horse.

Statements submitted to Sheffield Crown Court have revealed how 22 staff members present at the time of the disorder feared they would die, and felt it necessary to barricade themselves inside a kitchen.

Following the riots, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the ‘utterly appalling’ behaviour of those involved, and said South Yorkshire Police ‘have full government support for the strongest action against those responsible’.

On July 26, 2024 - just nine days before the riots - HMP Doncaster only had eight available places across its prison estate. At the time the early release scheme came into force, the Government said it will not apply to those convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse or some violent offences.