>New statistics reveal the majority of prisons are now dangerously full, with some – including Wandsworth, where ex-soldier Daniel Khalife is accused of escaping – holding 70 per cent more inmates than they should
No doubt the Daily Mail will be shrieking about how we’re ‘soft on crime’ (while calling for more cuts to public services) but that’s the basic arithmetic. We either invest more in the prison system, or we incarcerate fewer criminals.
>*HM Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor warned prisons may “hit a crisis point in the next six months to a year”*
Doesn’t this same story appear every one or two years? Feels like it.
“We should be learning from Europe not the United States and locking up fewer people,” says former Home Secretary Jack Straw of the UK prison market and profit motive:^1
> The UK’s prison population has been steadily rising since 2020 and there are now 87,793 inmates locked up. As of September 29, capacity across the whole estate stood at 88,561.
>HMP Wandsworth is at 170 per cent occupancy, according to August statistics from the Ministry of Justice. HMP Leeds is currently at 172 per cent occupancy, and HMP Durham is at 171 per cent.
>The government estimates these figures will only get worse, with the prison population expected to increase to between 93,100 and 106,300 by March 2027.
>
>A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We will always ensure there are enough cells to lock up dangerous criminals and keep the public safe.
>“We’re pressing ahead with the biggest expansion of prison places in over a century – delivering 20,000 additional spaces including six new jails.
>“Around 5,500 new places have already been delivered including HMP Fosse Way and we’ve created short-term capacity by doubling up cells where it is safe to do so and delaying non-urgent maintenance work.”
Also according to the Ministry of Justice:^2
>The Government remains committed to the ambition to increase work in prisons and to have more prisoners working and working longer hours in an “employment-like” atmosphere.
6 comments
>New statistics reveal the majority of prisons are now dangerously full, with some – including Wandsworth, where ex-soldier Daniel Khalife is accused of escaping – holding 70 per cent more inmates than they should
No doubt the Daily Mail will be shrieking about how we’re ‘soft on crime’ (while calling for more cuts to public services) but that’s the basic arithmetic. We either invest more in the prison system, or we incarcerate fewer criminals.
>*HM Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor warned prisons may “hit a crisis point in the next six months to a year”*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6-IQAdFU3w
Doesn’t this same story appear every one or two years? Feels like it.
“We should be learning from Europe not the United States and locking up fewer people,” says former Home Secretary Jack Straw of the UK prison market and profit motive:^1
> The UK’s prison population has been steadily rising since 2020 and there are now 87,793 inmates locked up. As of September 29, capacity across the whole estate stood at 88,561.
>HMP Wandsworth is at 170 per cent occupancy, according to August statistics from the Ministry of Justice. HMP Leeds is currently at 172 per cent occupancy, and HMP Durham is at 171 per cent.
>The government estimates these figures will only get worse, with the prison population expected to increase to between 93,100 and 106,300 by March 2027.
>
>A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We will always ensure there are enough cells to lock up dangerous criminals and keep the public safe.
>“We’re pressing ahead with the biggest expansion of prison places in over a century – delivering 20,000 additional spaces including six new jails.
>“Around 5,500 new places have already been delivered including HMP Fosse Way and we’ve created short-term capacity by doubling up cells where it is safe to do so and delaying non-urgent maintenance work.”
Also according to the Ministry of Justice:^2
>The Government remains committed to the ambition to increase work in prisons and to have more prisoners working and working longer hours in an “employment-like” atmosphere.
^1 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/prisons-overcrowding-early-release-daniel-khalife-wandsworth-b2416855.html
^2 https://data.justice.gov.uk/prisons/prison-reform/prisoners-working
But the war in drugs must continue says keir starmer
Legalise drugs and free anyone who is in prison on drug charges.
Or, continue to go down the road of privatised prisons and end up like the USA.
The tory animal keeps on giving the nation wonderful gifts