A reformed mother was recalled to prison for missing a probation appointment two decades ago, Inside Time reports.

The woman was recalled to HMP Downview for twelve weeks. She is a mother, and has maintained a clean criminal record since her original release. The woman lost her employment because of her recall to prison, nor was she allocated any work or activities during her imprisonment.

The Independent Monitoring Board questioned ‘whether this is a sensible use of a prison place’, given the ‘acute’ crowding issues ‘at the same time as we saw what might be construed as knee-jerk, short-term measures to deal with population pressure.’

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice defended the Probation Office, stating simply: ‘Offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions and they can be recalled to prison for breaching them.’

The amount of prison recalls has grown in recent years, with nearly 1,600 women being recalled to prison in 2022. This figure coincides with rising trends of self-harm among female inmates, increasing a stark 29% in the past year.

Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, stated ‘When someone moves on from crime and builds a new life with a secure job and a family, it makes no sense to disrupt that progress and send them back to square one. If the details in the Independent Monitoring Board’s report are correct, this is an extraordinary and outrageous case that warrants further investigation.’