Jailing of undocumented migrants ‘will lead to early release of high-risk criminals'
The Department of Justice was warned a crackdown on undocumented immigrants would lead to more serious and high-risk criminals being temporarily released from jail.
The head of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said a garda decision to bring charges against individuals arriving in Ireland without valid documents was contributing to 'unsafe and unmanageable' levels of overcrowding.
In a letter to a senior department official obtained under Freedom of Information legislation, IPS Director General Caron McCaffrey noted that in normal circumstances low-risk offenders on short sentences were the first to be offered temporary release. The Department of Justice was warned a crackdown on undocumented immigrants would lead to more serious and high-risk criminals being temporarily released from jail. Pic: Fran Veale
She said this would normally include those in custody for immigration offences but that the Department of Justice had made a deliberate policy decision to keep them in jail.
Ms McCaffrey said that, while the move was 'understandable', it was adding to the immense pressure on the Irish prison system.
She wrote: '[It] will unfortunately necessitate the early release of more serious and high-risk offenders to make space in already overcrowded prisons [instead of] offenders deemed to be low risk from a re-offending and community safety perspective.'
Ms McCaffrey also warned the Prison Service was heading into a 'catastrophic period' and that numbers in custody were reaching new highs every day.
She said if changes were not made, there was 'real potential to result in violent disorder within our prisons threatening the safety and wellbeing of both our staff and those in our care'.
The Director General said the Irish Prison Service had exhausted all options around the temporary release (TR) of low-risk offenders.
She said the department needed to look at temporary release for 'medium-risk to high-risk sentenced offenders', which would have to apply to criminals including 'prolific' burglars and individuals who were convicted of assault on gardaí or peace officers.
Ms McCaffrey urged the Department to look at options for temporary release of sex offenders, especially those who are at low risk of offending. Under existing rules, sex offenders are ineligible for temporary release and no change has been made to this policy since the letter was sent.
As the prisons boss acknowledged to the Department: 'It is recognised that this is a difficult category due to the victim issues and the fact that people convicted of a sex offence pose a low risk of very serious harm while other types of offenders pose a high risk of less-serious harm.
'However, other categories being considered for temporary release as part of crisis measures pose a much greater risk to public safety,' she added. Caron McCaffrey
Ms McCaffrey said this was particularly relevant for historic convictions and older sex offenders, some of whom were 'medically dependent' people and actively engaging in rehabilitation.
She also called for more flexibility around the use of 'open prisons' for long-serving prisoners.
Under existing rules, only those serving sentences of less than eight years could be transferred to an open centre such as Loughan House or Shelton Abbey meaning spaces were not always being used in an optimal way.
Ms McCaffrey also called for a reduction in the number of people being remanded to custody rather than granted bail.
She said there was a particular need for a bail supervision scheme for female offenders, with the country's two women's prisons in Dublin and Limerick operating above capacity.
Ms McCaffrey also asked the Department to press ahead with efforts for reopening of the disused Curragh Prison on Defence Forces land in Co. Kildare.
Her letter concluded: 'Overall, we are in an extremely difficult situation that we anticipate will only get worse without urgent decisions being made.'
Asked about the correspondence, a spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said they had nothing further to add.
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