Concern for older inmates in jails

Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers used a new report to criticise the lack of a national strategy for the ageing prison population of England and Wales.

Only two of the 29 prisons examined for the review identified the needs of older offenders on their arrival and only three had a specific policy for them.

In one institution, staff believed other prisoners would take care of the - often elderly - disabled inmates on their wing in an emergency.

Too little appropriate activity was provided for older people in jail, leaving them spending long periods of time locked in their cells.

The report also described the shortage of specific help to prepare elderly prisoners for their release as "an area of real concern".

Men over 60 make up about 3% of the prison population and some 7% of women in jail are over 50. Official figures show there were 6,661 men and 316 women aged over 50 in jail in England and Wales at the end of March. There were also 454 over-70s.

Prisoners generally suffer earlier chronic health problems and need social care before the population at large.

The report praised the prisons work of voluntary sector groups such as Age Concern and crime reduction charity Nacro, as well as pointing to some "extremely good work" in individual jails.

But Ms Owers noted that eight of the key recommendations in a 2004 review of provisions for older inmates had still not been implemented. She said: "The voluntary and healthcare sectors have done a great deal of important and useful work in this area. It now falls to the National Offender Management Service to make full use of that work, and of the recommendations in our last report, to ensure that prisons properly reflect, and can provide for, the needs of their ageing population."