JUSTICE chiefs have been urged to “strain every sinew” to re-open a notorious jail — and halt the early release of dangerous criminals.
The call over HMP Dartmoor came from Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick who says its year-long shutdown to fix a gas problem leaves crime victims and the public at risk.
PAAn offender enjoys early release from prison[/caption]
AlamyJustice chiefs have been urged to ‘strain every sinew’ to re-open notorious HMP Dartmoor[/caption]
AFPRobert Jenrick says its year-long shutdown to fix a gas problem leaves crime victims and the public at risk[/caption]
He wants the Napoleonic era, 700-place prison brought back into use quickly to ease chronic overcrowding blighting the prison system.
Mr Jenrick told The Sun on Sunday: “The Justice Secretary should be straining every sinew to reopen Dartmoor Prison. Emergency works should already be under way to fix the problem and free up desperately needed prison places.
“Instead, the Justice Secretary is releasing some of the most dangerous criminals, including sex offenders and domestic abusers who have breached their licence.
“That decision puts victims and the public in jeopardy.”
The 200-year-old prison, which insiders fear may never re-open, was found to have high levels of radon in December 2023.
All of its inmates were moved out between May and August last year.
Its windows were left open for ventilation — allowing insects and bats to move in.
This prompted a report last year calling for an urgent decision on the future of the Category C jail.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to approve reforms allowing inmates, including sex offenders and violent attackers, to earn their freedom having served as little as a third of their sentences.
Thousands of prisoners on recall will also serve just a month before being automatically re-released.
English and Welsh prisons were holding 88,087 inmates last week — with 1,355 unused places.
Internal government briefings suggest that men’s jails will run out of space by November if action is not taken.
Meanwhile, HMP Dartmoor is not set to accept inmates until at least 2026.
Its problem with radioactive radon has been known about since 2020 but it took another three years before anything was done to tackle it.
Radon, which is linked to lung cancer, is created by the decay of uranium in rocks and soil.
Most build-ups are fixed by installing a pump to extract it from the ground.
A Prison Service spokeswoman said: “To protect our staff, we took the decision to temporarily close HMP Dartmoor and are taking urgent advice from specialists so we can reopen as quickly — and safely — as possible.”
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