A convicted armed kidnapper released early from prison today shouted “Big Up Keir Starmer” as he posed on a new £150,000 Bentley.
Daniel Dowling-Brooks, 29, was released seven weeks earlier than he expected from a seven-year prison sentence for kidnapping and grievous bodily harm, which he had been serving at HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
He was among the first of more than 1,200 inmates serving sentences of five years or more to be released Tuesday morning under a scheme that sees them released only 40 percent into their prison term rather than halfway through.
It is the second mass release under the emergency plan announced by ministers just days after the general election, as men’s prisons in England and Wales ran out of space over the August bank holiday weekend.
Another prisoner released from HMP Swaleside thanked Sir Keir Starmer “from the bottom of my heart” and said he had been released a year earlier than he expected from a four-year prison sentence. A third was picked up in a black Rolls Royce by a group of men in matching hoodies.
‘I love my life’
Surrounded by a group of ten friends outside the prison, with the strong smell of cannabis in the air, father-of-two Dowling-Brooks said: “I love my life” as he also posed next to a Mercedes G Wagon, priced at £100,000.
He said: “I’m a father of two, so I’m out now and I’m very happy. I’m going to be good. I kidnapped someone who owed my friend money. I tied him up and held him at gunpoint. I beat him up. It was bad, but not as bad as they said.
“But I’m so sorry. I have changed. Big up Keir Starmer, I’m glad I’m getting out early. I’m delighted. I can’t wait to go to McDonald’s. That’s where we’re all going now. I am free and can now go wherever I want. It’s amazing.
“I couldn’t believe they let me out so early. I have my girl with me.”
His mother Sarah Dowling-Brooks, who was waiting for him, said: ‘He is doing well now. He has done his time. I’m so happy he’s home.”
After hugging a friend after his release at 9 a.m., another released inmate said: “It’s amazing. I can taste the fresh air. It’s freedom at last. I would like to thank Prime Minister Keir Starmer from the bottom of my heart.
“I thought I would get another year, but I got out early. I served four years. It was four long years. However, I’m not going to tell you what awaited me.”
A number of men were seen walking along the road with bin bags over their shoulders, one also shook hands with a guard and left the prison on the Isle of Sheppey, home to HMP Swaleside, HMP Standford Hill and HMP. Elmley.
Another walked out of HMP Elmley, got straight into a Ford Focus and drove away. He did not explain how the car was waiting for him, but said: “It’s great to be outside. I can’t believe my luck. I am very grateful.
“I still had a year left. I am very satisfied. I’m going to drive home now and visit my family. Everyone is eager to come out. It’s like a party. No one can believe their luck. I can’t wait to go to the pub and have a beer.”
Jamal Simpson, 35, who served a five-year sentence for ABH at HMP Brixton in south London, was released on Tuesday morning after spending just over two years in prison.
He said: “I am very happy to have been released. Everyone inside is happy to be outside. I only heard about it yesterday. I was shocked, very shocked, but in a good way. I have arranged the accommodation, so everything is going well. It’s a relief to be out.
“I think this early release plan is a very good idea. I am grateful to Labor and Keir Starmer. I will definitely vote for them.”
Martin Jones, the chief inspector of probation, warned that the early release of prisoners to tackle overcrowding will be undermined by the “high number of recalls” of offenders to prison.
He said that for every 100 prisoners released in the first quarter of this year, 56 had been recalled to prison because they had reoffended or breached their licences.
“My assessment is that there is a significant risk that the amount of space created by the SDS40 will be compromised [early release] changes will be reduced due to the high number of recalls we have historically seen for a number of years,” he said.
Harry, 27, who said he was first convicted of shoplifting a few years ago, was released last month as part of the parole scheme.
He said he was then recalled to Wandsworth Prison and released early for a second time on Tuesday.
He said: ‘Other than being drunk and disorderly and a k-bhead, I have not committed any crimes that would require me to go to prison. It’s stupid.”
Shabana Mahmood, the justice minister, said emergency measures such as early release of prisoners “just buy us some time” against prison overcrowding.
“The problem, the underlying problem, is not going to go away, and that is because the demand for prison places is increasing by about 4,500 every year,” she told the BBC.
“That’s why we have to think long-term about how we can reduce that, because we can’t build our way out of this crisis.”
She has announced a review of sentences, led by David Gauke, her Tory predecessor, which aims to ensure there will be enough space to lock up the most dangerous criminals, encouraging offenders to turn their backs on crime and extend punishment outside prison.
‘Prisons outside a prison’
Ms Mahmood is drawing up plans for a major expansion of community sentences as an alternative to prison, with judges using technology to create virtual ‘prisons outside prison’.
Courts would have the power to enforce the virtual prisons through the use of technology such as GPS tags, smartphones and special watches that remind offenders to attend meetings with probation officers, drug treatment courses and internships.
They are likely to be modeled on current home detention curfews (HDCs), under which prisoners can be released six months before their scheduled release date to serve the remainder of their sentence, barring them from effectively leaving their homes under ‘house arrest’ ‘ between, for example, 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Ms Mahmood is expected to announce an immediate extension of the HDCs from six to 12 months on Tuesday. This would mean that a prisoner could be released for only a quarter of his sentence, allowing him to serve a year of the remaining time at home, rather than in prison.
She will also announce plans to make it easier and faster for prison and probation officers to re-release offenders who have been sent back to prison for violating their licenses after their release. Currently, it could take up to a year for the parole board to make a decision.