31 March 2023 , 12:11
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Police have warned the public not to approach a prisoner jailed for assault after he was MISTAKENLY let out.
20-year-old Rayon Newby, of Ilford, east London, was accidentally released from HMP Thameside on March 17 - prompting police to issue a warning today (March 31).
Newby was serving a sentence for assault, harassment and burglary offences when he was wrongly let out - and the public have been warned not to approach him.
He is about 5ft 10in (1.78m) tall, of heavy build and has a pierced left ear, detectives said.
Metropolitan Police have now issued an appeal in their hunt to find the offender who was mistakenly let out of the category B jail in Greenwich, east London.
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Police are appealing for help from the public to locate a wanted 20-year-old man, Rayon Newby, who is from east London. (Met Police)Privately run by outsourcing firm Serco, HMP Thameside, which opened in 2012, was dubbed one of the worst-performing prisons in the UK in 2013.
The facility can hold up to 1232 male convicts and releases an average of 258 prisoners into the community monthly.
The blunder follows the Mirror revealing that some criminals are "dodging” jail sentences because of prison overcrowding and the government’s failure to fund the criminal justice system.
Judges have been advised to lock up fewer offenders to reduce the pressure on the deteriorating prison system, which is only 1,100 inmates below its maximum capacity.
Following the expose, Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed said: "It’s shocking that dangerous criminals are dodging jail because the Conservatives have trashed the criminal justice system.”
Newby was wrongly released from Thameside prison, where rehabilitation and release planning was found "not sufficiently good” in a 2021 government report.
It warned: "The establishment held a diverse population, with a very large turnover. Over three-quarters had been at the prison for less than six months and around a quarter were serving short sentences.
"Almost two-thirds of prisoners were on remand or unsentenced and some had been in the prison for over 18 months."
"There had been a steep rise in the use of force since the last inspection, and some excessive use had resulted in staff dismissals.
"In our survey, just over a quarter of respondents said that it was easy to get illicit drugs in the prison,
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"Although a quarter of the population were foreign nationals, Home Office immigration staff were still not providing a full-time service, leaving too many unsupported.
"Four former staff members had been convicted of corruption in the previous year."
Delays meant offenders were being released as late as 8pm in the evening from Thameside prison, next door to Belmarsh Prison in the Thamesmead area.
The report said over a third of the inmates at Thameside prison presented a high risk of harm.
Yet Justice Secretary Dominic Raab announced he is supporting a block on the release of dangerous criminals, despite the years of cuts to criminal justice by the Conservative government.
Police have urged the public not to approach Rayon Newby and ask anyone who sees him, or knows where he is to should 101 or Tweet @MetCC quoting reference CAD 3195/30Mar.
To remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.