PRISONERS are being released into homelessness and drug and alcohol abuse as the probation service which is meant to help them struggles with understaffing and other problems.

Vital checks on the potential for domestic abuse by discharged prisoners are not being made, inspectors found in a wide-ranging report published today.

And four in 10 discharged prisoners are back in custody within 28 days — most of them for reasons other than reoffending.

HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Prisons said the findings were a “wake-up call.”

It said the first report found “root-to-branch issues” and concluded that the model of dealing with offenders — the offender management in custody model — “simply isn’t working,” and called for a “fundamental review.”

The second report states: “Only four out of every 10 prisoners in our case sample went into settled accommodation on release from custody.

“Just 8 per cent of those available for work went into employment.

“Recall rates were high, with 30 per cent on average being returned to custody — four in 10 of these were within 28 days of being released.

“In some probation regions, almost half were recalled to prison.

Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell said: “Our inspection shows a significant number of released prisoners on licence, with no settled address and little engagement in meaningful employment.

“Therefore, sadly, it should come as little surprise to see people being recalled back to prison. 

“If those responsible for sentence management in, and after, custody need a wake-up call, this is it.

“We are seeing, too often, a breakdown in communication between prison and probation staff. 

“This is, in part, down to there being too few staff and too many cases to manage.”

Mick Pimblett, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association, said: “The offender management in custody model is broken. 

“While the rationale behind the model is a good one, staffing recruitment and retention is a serious issue which results in offenders not being supervised adequately while in custody. 

“This has a knock-on effect of not identifying risks that offenders may pose when released into the community.

“HMPPS needs to address these staffing difficulties which will only deteriorate with the increase in the prison population.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We have taken steps to address the issues raised in this report and are investing £155 million more every year into the Probation Service.

"This is allowing us to strengthen the supervision of offenders, deliver mandatory training to improve risk assessments and recruit thousands more staff to keep the public safe. As the report notes, we are also making real progress in providing stable accommodation to vulnerable prison leavers.”