The Government has announced new plans deport lower-level foreign offenders instead of prosecuting them, the Telegraph reports.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has revealed plans that to offer ‘conditional cautions’ to low level offenders, where they will be deported from the UK instead of facing trial. This plan aspires to relieve the pressure on both overcrowded prisons, and reduce the court backlog.

The proposal, supported by policing minister Chris Philp, seeks to deport offenders without convicting them. This has generated criticism that it violates the human rights of prisoners and that the right to a fair trial is being limited to those born in the UK only. Chalk acknowledged that many of these prisoners have families in the UK from whom they do not wish to be forcibly separated.

The UK Government aims to address prison overcrowding through a commitment to increasing prison capacity and pursuing deportation agreements with countries like Albania, Poland, and Romania. Chalk highlighted the financial burden of housing foreign inmates and outlined plans for new prison infrastructure. Additionally, measures to streamline the deportation process and prevent last-minute appeals have been implemented.  

While facing criticism, Chalk defended the decision not to release prisoners during the pandemic, prioritizing public safety. He emphasized the importance of upholding principles despite the challenges posed by prison overcrowding: ‘Now there are some cases where it’s absolutely right that you are going to want to go through the criminal justice process to ensure that that person is properly punished. […] But there will be other cases where it’s in the public interest to simply get them out of the country.’