The Know Daily - Wednesday 29 May 2024

_{Read in 5m 24s ∙ Listening to Rosalía ∙}

AI often gets a bad rep, but in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, it’s working to prevent elephant accidents on railway tracks. The smart surveillance system uses thermal imaging and motion sensors to detect when elephants are within 100ft of the tracks, prompting forest and railway officials to slow down trains and guide the elephants away from danger ​​🐘

👮 Behind bars

Prison officials have argued that more innovative thinking is needed to tackle overcrowding in UK jails, as the early-release prisoner scheme comes under continued scrutiny.

Tell me about this scheme. 
The early-release scheme was first introduced last October, at the time allowing for some prisoners to be released up to 18 days before the end of their sentence. This was increased to between 35 and 60 days in March and rose again to 70 days this month, as the government looks to ease overcrowding. Anyone convicted of a sexual, terrorist or serious violent offence is excluded from the scheme.

But not everyone’s convinced it’s a good idea?
According to Sky News, probation staff have consistently raised concerns about the “extent and pace” at which the measure is being expanded, saying there isn’t enough time for sufficient checks or safeguards. Alongside this, the Prison Governors' Association has warned that the scheme won’t do enough to ease overcrowding, and that jails could become full “within weeks”.

Just how full are we talking? 
There are currently some 88,000 prisoners in England and Wales, in a system designed to house 79,000 and “increasingly dilapidated” by “years of overcrowding and underfunding”, said The Independent. The number is projected to reach 106,000 by 2027, and this is mainly down to tougher sentences, with average lengths rising by more than a third between 2009 and 2019.

What else is being done?
The government recently triggered a number of other measures to tackle overcrowding. Operation Early Dawn sees some defendants remain in police custody with bail hearings delayed due to a lack of prison space, while police have also been told to consider pausing “non-priority” arrests.

But Tom Wheatley - president of the Prison Governors’ Association - argues that politicians must consider making “fundamental changes to the way we use prisons”. Speaking to The Independent last month, Wheatley said the UK must decide whether it wants either to properly invest in jails - or else to send fewer people to prison and spend that money on schools, hospitals and social care instead.