PRISON WATCHDOGS WARN OF OVERCROWDING CRISIS

A new report published today by the Prison Reform Trust reveals that over three-quarters of prison watchdogs are concerned that prisons in England and Wales are suffering from a deepening overcrowding crisis which is threatening prison safety, leading to prisoners being held in inhuman and degrading conditions and damaging attempts to reduce reoffending by prisoners. 

Prison Overcrowding: The Inside Story draws on findings from a unique study of Boards of Visitors, the independent watchdogs appointed by the Home Secretary to monitor prison conditions.  Each prison in England and Wales has a Board of Visitors, responsible for monitoring and safeguarding the well-being and rights of all prisoners.  Boards of Visitors enter prisons on a daily basis and are in a strong position to provide detailed independent information on the state of prisons.  This report is the first time that their views on the extent and effects of prison overcrowding have been collated and made public in this way.  In all, 100 Chairs of Boards of Visitors took part in the study, the first of its kind, which was carried out by the Prison Reform Trust and the National Advisory Council of Boards of Visitors. 

The prison population is currently at an all-time high of over 71,500.  This compares with an average of 45,800 ten years ago in 1992.  The number of prisoners rose by over 4,000 in the first four months of 2002 alone.   England and Wales now has the highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe, at 134 per 100,000.  Prisons have an obligation to accept all prisoners sent by the courts and so have no control over the number of people they receive.  As a result, many prisons have become overcrowded.  Building new prisons has not proved a solution to prison overcrowding.  In the last ten years, 19 new prisons have been opened.  Of these, 15 are already overcrowded. 

This report reveals that many prisons are struggling to provide a safe or constructive environment because of overcrowding.

• 77 Boards of Visitors (77 per cent) said that the prison they monitored is adversely affected by overcrowding. 

• Prison overcrowding is preventing prisons from providing adequate work, education, offending behaviour programmes and resettlement advice for prisoners.

• Visiting arrangements for prisoners and their families are being affected and some prisoners have to go without visits because of the distance they are being held from their families.

• Prison security and the safety of prisoners and staff are being threatened by overcrowding.  In some prisons, the level of assaults and incidence of self-harm has increased. 

• Prisons are having to hold prisoners inappropriately, either in the wrong security conditions or in unsuitable parts of the prison.  Some prisoners are being held in segregation units or healthcare centres, because these are the only parts of the prison with spare beds.

The report shows that Boards of Visitors have a wide range of concerns about overcrowding, many of which they feel have not been taken seriously by the Government.  Comments from Boards of Visitors included:

• “Prisoners must use the toilet in the presence of their cell mate.  Also, there is only one chair in each cell, which means that one prisoner must use the toilet as a seat when eating their meal.  The Board sees this situation as degrading and inhuman and one that is likely to cause increasing unrest amongst prisoners as the population increases.”

• “Prisoners with severe mental health problems, who have been sectioned, are still being held weeks later.  In one case it took a Court Order for the prisoner to be moved.  These people need treatment urgently, prison staff are not trained to deal with these severe problems and the prisoner quickly deteriorates.”

• “Prisoners are located where there is a cell with no regard for family ties and resettlement programmes.”

• “There has been an increase in assaults…more fights have broken out and there has been a rise in Mandatory Drug test positive results.”

• “Due to numbers, prisons are becoming containers only and regimes are failing.”

• “[Overcrowding] inevitably places a restriction on the ability of the prison to deliver rehabilitation and resettlement.  This in turn leads to more inmates reoffending and returning to custody after they have finished their sentences, adding to the already dire population problem.  And so the problem gets worse.”

• “The constant movement away from home areas has a major effect on family contacts and is an indirect punishment of relatives for the crime committed by the individual.”

• “The system cannot continue without radical changes.”

The report, which has been sent to the Home Secretary, the Prisons Minister, the Director General of the Prison Service and the Home Affairs Select Committee, warns that urgent action is needed to reduce the prison population.  If prison numbers continue to increase further, there is a danger that the prison system will be put under even more pressure and the functioning of the entire criminal justice system will be jeopardised.  The report concludes that unless the Government acts urgently to divert less serious offenders away from prison and into supervision or treatment in the community, the overcrowding crisis will deepen and attempts to prepare prisoners for release into society will be severely undermined.

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

“This is the first time that Boards of Visitors, appointed by the Home Secretary as independent monitors of prisons, have spoken out together against the overwhelming pressures of overcrowding.  They make it clear that inside most jails in England and Wales, overcrowding is damaging prisoners, their families and prison staff, and undermining attempts to reduce reoffending.  This unique report must act as a wake up call to the Government to reduce prison numbers, promote community penalties and reserve prison for serious and violent offenders only”.

Bryan Baker, Chair of the National Advisory Council of Boards of Visitors added:

“This report is a comprehensive picture of the difficulties faced by prisons as a result of overcrowding.  Boards of Visitors across the country are concerned at the impact that overcrowding is having on prisoners and staff.  Unless urgent action is taken to ensure that further disruptions to prison regimes do not occur, already overstretched prisons will face major problems”.