TL;DR:

• UK prisons minister confirms AI chatbot deployment at HMP Wandsworth to prevent release errors
• 262 prisoners released in error in past year—128% increase from previous year
• AI will process documents, cross-reference aliases, merge datasets, and calculate release dates

The UK Ministry of Justice is deploying AI chatbots to address a dramatic rise in prisoner release errors, following several high-profile cases of inmates being mistakenly freed from custody.

Tackling the Crisis

Justice Minister James Timpson announced that HMP Wandsworth has received approval to implement AI solutions after a specialised digital team identified “quick fixes” for the embattled prison. The south-west London facility processes approximately 2,000 releases annually—significantly more than most UK prisons.

The AI systems will automate several critical administrative tasks currently performed manually by inexperienced staff using calculators and paper documents. These include processing paper documentation, cross-referencing prisoner aliases (some offenders use more than 20 different names), merging disparate datasets, and calculating release dates and sentences.

The Scale of the Problem

The deployment comes amid mounting pressure on Justice Secretary David Lammy following a series of mistaken releases. In the 12 months to March 2025, 262 prisoners were released in error—a 128% increase from 115 the previous year. The vast majority (233 cases) occurred within prisons rather than courts.

Recent incidents include the release of sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif on 29 October and fraudster Billy Smith on 7 November, both from HMP Wandsworth. A double manhunt ensued before both were returned to custody.

Looking Forward

Prison officials and unions attribute the spike in errors to complicated early release schemes and reliance on paper-based systems that result in lost documentation between prisons, courts, and the Ministry of Justice. Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor described the situation as “embarrassing and potentially dangerous” and a symptom of “a system close to breaking point.”

The government has committed to building 14,000 additional prison places whilst deploying technology experts to modernise operations. However, officials acknowledge there is “no overnight fix” to the inherited prison crisis.

Source: The Guardian