Those responsible for the justice system know only too well that one dreadful event, or a high profile court case, can have a devastating impact on prison numbers. The latest edition of the Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile reveals how the August riots, as well as causing harm and distress in communities, propelled an extra 846 people into our already overcrowded jails. This hit the prison service hard when it was already trying to cope with severe budget cuts and overcrowding largely driven by inflation in sentencing.

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Prison has a poor record for reducing reoffending – 49% of adults are reconvicted within one year of release – for those serving sentences of less than 12 months this increases to 61%. The average cost of each prison place is now £45,000.

The newly announced green paper should use all available evidence to create a fairer, more effective, more efficient criminal justice system.

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Children with learning disabilities and other impairments are more likely to go to prison than other young people because the youth justice system is failing to recognise their needs, according to a major survey of youth offending team (YOT) staff.

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