{"id":635793,"date":"2025-12-16T09:57:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T09:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/635793\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T09:57:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T09:57:21","slug":"wales-set-to-cement-title-for-highest-imprisonment-rate-in-western-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/635793\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales set to cement title for highest imprisonment rate in western Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"HMPHMP Parc in Bridgend<\/p>\n

Wales\u2019 unwanted title as the nation with the highest \u201cin-country\u201d imprisonment rate in western Europe is set to be solidified due to the expansion of HMP Parc.<\/p>\n

The warning came\u00a0as the\u00a0expansion, which was approved despite the prison reaching a record 17 deaths in 2024, is projected to push the rate to 178 per 100,000 population.<\/p>\n

Analysis by Wales Governance Centre warned the projected rate will surpass the average for the whole of Europe (177 per 100,000) and that of anywhere else in western Europe.<\/p>\n

The \u201cin-country\u201d rate refers to people held in Welsh prisons, including those from England, with 167 per 100,000 currently compared with 139 per 100,000 across the border.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) decision to add 345 places at HMP Parc will increase the prison place surplus in Wales from 393 to an estimated 738 places, fuelling concerns about the country being used to \u201cabsorb prisoner overflows from England\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018Enormously high\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Appearing before the Senedd\u2019s equality committee on Monday December 15, Rob Jones, a lecturer at Cardiff University, questioned the logic of expanding the Bridgend prison.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI don\u2019t quite understand why that decision was taken to expand that prison at that particular time \u2013 one, given the safety problems that have been widely reported on and, secondly, Wales already has the highest \u2018in-country\u2019 imprisonment rate in western Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressed about the reasons for the \u201cenormously high\u201d rate, Dr Jones pointed to the impact of poverty in Wales. He raised the example of Finland which has a rate of 51 per 100,000.<\/p>\n

\"RobRob Jones, of Cardiff University\u2019s Wales Governance Centre<\/p>\n

The \u201cill-judged\u201d plans to extend HMP Parc were approved by Bridgend Council in November and Dr Jones urged Welsh ministers to ask the UK Government to think again.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI don\u2019t see any reason why Parc should be expanded when there are still no answers about Wales\u2019 imprisonment rate\u2026 I think there needs to be a very serious conversation about tackling overimprisonment in Wales, not just overcrowding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Elephant in the room\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since HMP Berwyn in Wrexham opened in 2017, the average number of prisoners held in Wales has increased by 34%, according to a Wales Governance Centre briefing.<\/p>\n

The report found the number of prisoners held in England would need to increase by more than 21,000 to equal the rate in Wales following the proposed expansion.<\/p>\n

Dr Jones told the committee: \u201cIf the Welsh Government is serious about its\u2026 commitment to reduce the number of people in prison in Wales \u2013 now is the time to show it.\u201d<\/p>\n

His latest factfile on imprisonment showed a record number of deaths (21) across the Welsh prison estate in 2024. Of the 17 at HMP Parc, eight were attributed to natural causes.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI\u00a0think the natural\u00a0cause deaths\u00a0are the elephant in the\u00a0room actually when\u00a0we think about deaths in prison. [That\u2019s] not to say those others that we saw, particularly at Parc last year with regards to substances, are not, of course, to be taken seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Jagged edge\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr Jones expressed concerns about the standards of health care in prisons, which is devolved to Wales, with the average life expectancy of prisoners \u201csignificantly lower\u201d.<\/p>\n

Asked about housing, Dr Jones said the \u201cjagged edge\u201d of Wales\u2019 justice system is \u201calive and well\u201d when it comes to homelessness and prisoner release. He warned councils, housing services and probation cannot deal with the \u201cchurn\u201d created by short-term sentences.<\/p>\n

Labour\u2019s Mick Antoniw asked about people from black or minority ethnic backgrounds being disadvantaged \u201cin just about every respect of the criminal justice system\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"LabourLabour MS Mick Antoniw<\/p>\n

Dr Jones replied: \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve seen any real improvement nor change,\u201d warning of \u201czero\u201d investment in research on criminal justice in Wales.<\/p>\n

He pointed to evidence of two-tier sentencing and cautioned Wales is \u201ccompletely lost\u201d in the context of an England-and-Wales justice system. He raised the danger of recommendations \u2013 such as those from the Lammy review and Thomas commission \u2013 sitting on a shelf.<\/p>\n

\u2018No determined effort\u2019<\/strong>
\n\"JaneJane Dodds, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats<\/p>\n

Jane Dodds, the Liberal Democrats\u2019 leader in Wales, asked about a high and growing proportion of Welsh prisoners held on remand before their trial or sentencing.<\/p>\n

Dr Jones warned of a lack of understanding to explain a 10% increase in prisoners on remand in 2024 (804) after reaching record levels in 2023 (730).<\/p>\n

He raised the example of Welsh ministers\u2019 women\u2019s justice blueprint, with half of magistrates saying they had never heard of the plan which promotes alternatives to remand.<\/p>\n

On a lack of \u201cvital\u201d information about parental imprisonment, the lecturer said he was led on a \u201cmerry dance\u201d before his FoI for Welsh data was rejected on cost grounds.<\/p>\n

Asked about short-term sentences for women, Dr Jones said: \u201cThere never really seems to be any determined effort to get to the bottom of problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Alan Hughes<\/p>\n

Senedd<\/p>\n

Senedd<\/p>\n

Senedd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Support quality, independent, local journalism\u2026that mattersFrom just \u00a31 a month you can help fund our work \u2013 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5010],"tags":[748,4884,196191,66617,196192,196193,66348,22146,196194,33595,16,15,1764,196195],"class_list":{"0":"post-635793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wales","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-hmp-parc","11":"tag-icnn-senedd-reporter","12":"tag-jane-dodds","13":"tag-justice-and-policing","14":"tag-mick-antoniw","15":"tag-ministry-of-justice","16":"tag-prisons-and-probation","17":"tag-senedd","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-wales","21":"tag-wales-governance-centre"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115728657956134026","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}