The prison system is broken: can the UK escape its cycle of reoffending?

But the government's strategy of easing this pressure by granting early release to thousands of offenders has had a knock-on effect. With many lacking stability on the outside, reoffending rates are high, exacerbating the existing problem. The Guardian visited Wales to see this playing out on the streets of Bridgend; and the Netherlands, to find out how the Dutch have managed to close more than 20 prisons in the past 10 years, seemingly in complete contrast to the struggles in Britain