Shabana Mahmood says thousands of prisoners in England and Wales will be released after serving 40% of their sentences as part of a new policy to solve an overcrowding crisis that threatens "a total breakdown of law and order". Sentences of four years or more for serious violent offences and sexual offences will be automatically excluded from the early release scheme. The government also plans to recruit 1,000 probation officers Thousands of prisoners to be released early to avoid ‘total breakdown of law and order’