THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE JAILED
Time for a fairer deal for those accused of crime

Nearly twelve thousand innocent people were imprisoned in England and Wales last year for crimes they did not commit.

The shocking figures are revealed in a report Innocent until proven guilty published today by the Prison Reform Trust as part of its Reform Remand campaign.

The report shows that according to official government figures 11,742 people who were jailed awaiting trial in 2002 were subsequently acquitted or the proceedings were terminated, with little or no compensation.

These innocent people are jailed for an average of nearly two months in some of the worst conditions in overcrowded local prisons.

* Many are locked in their cells for up to 22 hours a day, with limited access to showers and with just 30 minutes exercise

* They have to share cells with convicted prisoners

* They have to see their cell mate use the toilet, which may not be separated by a screen, in the corner of a cramped cell.

* They have limited access to legal information to prepare for their trial

* They experience unacceptable inconsistencies in provision of bail information schemes

The Reform Remand campaign, using a series of hard hitting national newspaper adverts and a website, www.innocentuntilprovenguilty.com, focuses on the plight of the 58,710 people, innocent until proven guilty, who were remanded into custody last year awaiting trial.

When they finally face trial half of these people are either acquitted or given a community sentence.

The Home Secretary, David Blunkett, writing in The Observer on February 3rd last year said:
 
“Those on remand….are there long enough to lose their jobs, their family relationships, and even their homes. This can push someone off the straight and narrow for good.”

The Reform Remand campaign is calling for a fairer deal for those accused of crime. The government must act to improve the treatment of, and conditions for, people held in prison awaiting trial and for a reduction in the needless use of custodial remand.  Eight out of ten people remanded into custody are charged with a non-violent offence. More than a quarter have been accused of theft or handling stolen goods.

Action should be taken to:

* Adjust sentencing policy and guidelines to ensure that custodial remand is reserved for those whose alleged crime is so serious or violent that they would almost certainly receive a prison sentence if found guilty

* Use electronic tagging in the community as an alternative to holding those awaiting trial in prison

* Increase capacity in the Probation Service so that thorough reports are  produced on time for the courts and Probation Officers attend initial hearings

* Ring fence fundraising for effective bail support schemes in courts and probation areas across the country

* Increase the number of places available in bail hostels

* Ensure that court  diversion schemes are available across the country so that offenders who are mentally ill or at risk of suicide can be given hospital places or the treatment they need

* Create separate wings in local prisons so that people awaiting trial are held away from convicted prisoners with a separate statement of purpose, and regime that includes being unlocked for a minimum of ten hours each day

* Ensure that each prison that holds people awaiting trial has a fully staffed and effective bail information schemes.

* Improve prisoners’ access to up to date legal reference books so that they can prepare for trial.

* Bring policy and practice on remand into line with other policies designed to reduce social exclusion.

Speaking today the author of the Innocent until proven guilty report Enver Solomon said:

“It is unjust, unfair and a shocking waste of public money that we are locking up so many people who are acquitted when they finally stand trial. It demonstrates that there is an urgent need to ensure that justice, above all else, is at the heart of our criminal justice system.”

Speaking today the director of the Prison Reform Trust, Juliet Lyon, said:

“People are rightly shocked by a single miscarriage of justice, but imprisoning nearly 12,000 innocent people, and ruining their lives as a result, is an injustice beyond belief.”

The Reform Remand campaign is online at www.innocentuntilprovenguilty.com