Immediate release (October 2nd 2003)

‘ UNSAFE PRISONS’

The Prison Reform Trust warns today that security is being jeopardized, staff and prisoners are being placed at risk and basic conditions are deteriorating in a number of jails in England and Wales that have exceeded their maximum capacity.
Official figures released by PRT show that eight jails which have been overcrowded for many months are now holding more prisoners than they are designed for damaging every aspect of prison regimes and severely restricting opportunities for tackling re-offending.
The figures show that on 26th September the following prisons were above their operational capacity, which is defined by the Prison Service as the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime.

Operational Capacity
Population 26/09/03
Leicester
385
400
Bedford
464
472
Belmarsh
886
903
Wandsworth
1,461
1,467
Hull
1,031
1,034
Preston
664
667
Winchester
637
640
North Sea Camp
307
308
In addition four prisons were at operational capacity. These were Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham and Woodhill near Milton Keynes.
Overall 85 prisons were overcrowded with populations in excess of their normal uncrowded capacity.
Speaking today the Director of the Prison Reform Trust, Juliet Lyon, said:
‘An overcrowded prison is an ineffective place, which can do little to prevent future offending, but a prison which is crowded beyond its top limit is an inhumane, unsafe place, which puts intolerable pressure on the prisoners and staff within it.’

Further information:

Juliet Lyon (Director, PRT): 020 7251 5070 (w) or 07762 093105 (m)
Geoff Dobson (Deputy Director, PRT): 020 7251 5070 (w) or 07788 728016 (m)
Enver Solomon (Policy Officer, PRT): 020 7251 5070 (w) or 07939 221381 (m) 

Notes to Editors:

1. A jail can be overcrowded but below it’s maximum operational capacity. Overcrowding is reached when a jail surpasses its normal accommodation level. At this point prisoners will have to share cells designed for one person. But a prison reaches its maximum operational capacity when it runs out of all remaining available space to house prisoners.

2. On 26th September the prison population was 73,661. The prison population has increased by nearly 2,000 in the last year

3. The number of prisoners in England and Wales has increased by over 25,000 in the last ten years.  In 1993, the average prison population was 44,566.  When Labour came to Government in May 1997 the prison population was 60,131.  This continued to increase, and stood at 66,105 when David Blunkett became Home Secretary on 8 June 2001.

4. The UK now has  the highest imprisonment rate in the European Union at 139 per 100,000, taking over from Portugal which has an imprisonment rate of 131 per 100,000.

5. The number of women in prison has increased particularly dramatically.  Ten years ago in 1993 the average female prison population was 1,560.  Five years ago in 1998 it stood at 3,105 .  On  May  16 2003, there were 4437 women in prison, an increase of  more than 150 per cent)

6. Since 1996, over 18,500 additional prison places have been provided at a cost of more than £1.5 billion – an average of £100,000 a prison place.

7. Prison has a poor record in reducing re-offending – 59 per cent  of prisoners are reconvicted within 2 years of being released. The reconviction rate for male young adults (under 21 )over the same period is 74 per cent.  For prisoners who are sentenced for burglary, one of the most common offences, the reconviction rate is about 75 per cent.