Prison Revolution: Chemical Castration and Early Release Plans

A major overhaul of sentencing laws could see thousands of offenders released after serving just a third of their jail term, whilst sex offenders may face mandatory chemical castration under groundbreaking proposals set to be accepted by ministers.

The independent review, led by former justice secretary David Gauke, aims to reduce England and Wales’ prison population by 9,800 people by 2028 through a radical “progression model” for well-behaved inmates.

Under the proposals, offenders serving standard determinate sentences – including sex offenders and domestic abusers with terms under four years – would serve only one-third of their sentence in prison, one-third on licence in the community, with the final portion completely unsupervised.

The government will also expand chemical castration trials nationwide, rolling out medication that suppresses sexual drive to 20 prisons across England. Ministers are considering making the treatment mandatory for suitable offenders.

“Drugs that reduce sexual desire will not be appropriate for every sexual offender,” Mr Gauke told Sky News. “I’m not going to claim it’s the answer for everything. This is about reducing the risk of re-offending in future.”

However, the plans have sparked fierce criticism. Domestic abuse commissioner Nicole Jacobs warned: “By adopting these measures the government will be sending a clear message to domestic abusers that they can now offend with little consequence.”

Police chiefs have also raised concerns, with Chief Constable Sacha Hatchett stating: “Out of prison should not mean out of control. If we are going to have fewer people in prison, we need to ensure that we collectively have the resources and powers to manage the risk offenders pose outside of prison.”

The government plans to invest £700m in probation services and expand electronic tagging technology to create what officials describe as a “prison outside of a prison” to monitor tens of thousands of offenders simultaneously.

The sentencing bill is expected before parliament, with implementation likely by spring 2026.