About 650 prisoners walked out of jails in England and Wales on Tuesday, 10 November, in the third wave of the government's expanded early release scheme, on the same day Greater Manchester's police chief said more than one in five offenders freed in his area last month were already back behind bars.

The latest group is serving sentences of more than 882 days and fewer than 1,163 days, roughly two years and five months to three years and two months. Under the scheme they leave after serving a third of their sentence rather than half, and serve the rest under supervision in the community. At least 1,350 offenders had already been released in the first two waves since 1 October.

Police chief warns of repeat offending

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson told LBC: "The fact of the matter is 22% of everybody that's been released [in October] are already back inside in Greater Manchester." Eleven prisoners on the scheme left HMP Forest Bank in Salford on Tuesday morning, according to the Press Association, although none spoke to reporters waiting outside.

The scheme is designed to ease severe overcrowding. The prison population of England and Wales stood at 86,982 on Monday, according to Ministry of Justice figures, up from 86,883 the previous week, with room for only 2,076 more people. Justice Secretary Alex Norris has said Britain faces a "prison capacity crisis" and has pledged 14,000 new prison places by 2031.

Who is being released, and who is not

This wave includes people convicted of affray, burglary and fraud, and some violent offenders convicted of wounding or grievous bodily harm with intent could also be eligible. Rapists, the most serious child sex offenders, people convicted of manslaughter, terrorists and murderers serving life sentences are excluded. About 5,000 prisoners are due to be released in stages over the next year, down from 6,000 after ministers intervened to exempt rapists and the most serious child sex offenders. Read the Press Association report and the account of the police chief's warning.