British police are actively searching for two prisoners who were mistakenly released from custody in the last week. This incident comes shortly after the government announced stricter security checks in response to previous blunders. The individuals, identified as Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, and William Smith, 35, were released from Wandsworth Prison and a facility in Surrey, respectively, raising further concerns about the effectiveness of the prison system.
Kaddour-Cherif was incorrectly freed on October 29, 2023, while Smith was released on the same day he received a sentence of 45 months for multiple fraud offenses. The Metropolitan Police reported that they were only informed of Kaddour-Cherif’s release on October 30, 2023, six days after he had been liberated. Kaddour-Cherif, an Algerian national, was serving time for trespass with intent to steal and is also a registered sex offender due to a previous conviction for indecent exposure. Commander Paul Trevers stated, “Cherif has had a six-day head start but we are working urgently to close the gap and establish his whereabouts.”
In a separate case, Surrey Police confirmed that Smith has connections to the Woking area and is also being pursued. The releases occur in the wake of a significant incident earlier this month, when Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an Ethiopian national sentenced for sexually assaulting a minor, was mistakenly released from Chelmsford Prison on October 24, 2023. Kebatu was recaptured two days later and has since been deported back to Ethiopia.
The recent errors in prisoner releases have put additional pressure on the UK’s Prison Service, which has faced criticism for being under-resourced for years. The current Labour government, which returned to power in July after 14 years of Conservative leadership, is now faced with the fallout from these incidents. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, who also serves as the justice minister, expressed his outrage over the situation, attributing the ongoing issues within the prison system to the previous administration’s policies.
Just before the news of the latest wrongful releases broke, Lammy was questioned in the House of Commons about whether any additional asylum seekers had been wrongly released since Kebatu’s incident. He did not confirm if there had been further cases, which raises concerns about the potential for more mistakes in the future.
According to government statistics, a staggering 262 prisoners were released in error in the year leading up to March 2023, representing a 128% increase from the previous year. Critics from the Conservative Party argue that the current government’s decision to release some prisoners early in order to manage overcrowding in prisons is directly linked to this rise in erroneous releases.
As searches continue for Kaddour-Cherif and Smith, the government faces increasing scrutiny over its ability to manage the prison system effectively and ensure that public safety is not compromised.
