Jails at bursting point as numbers hit another all time high

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Prison numbers have risen to an all-time high for the second week in a row to 80,812, a prison service spokesman said today.

Jails are at bursting point with only 320 places left even taking into account the 400 beds in police stations which are being used as emergency accommodation under "Operation Safeguard". Today's total included 364 being held in police cells.

Last week's record high was the first since jails policy passed to the new Ministry of Justice on May 9.

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, took control of prisons, probation and sentencing policy from the Home Office as part of a radical shake-up.

At this point last year the number of prisoners was 77,640, nearly 3,200 lower than today's figure. Left-wing think-tank the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) said 12,000 inmates - such as drug addicts, those with mental health problems and some female offenders - would be better off outside the prison system.

IPPR director Nick Pearce said: "Until we have a fundamental rethink, we will keep facing crises. Prison is an expensive and ineffective way of warehousing social problems.

"If more drug and mental health treatment was provided outside prisons and women sentenced to less than six months were given community sentences, we could stabilise our prison population to 10 per cent lower than it is today."

 

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