The latest Bromley Briefings prison factfile reveals the prison system in England and Wales is holding large numbers unnecessarily, for longer and longer at huge cost and for little or no public benefit. 
 
The factfile, based mainly on official figures, is a comprehensive overview of a prison system struggling to cope with the dual effects of a rapidly rising prison population and the greater use of indeterminate prison sentences. 

get involved!

This briefing gives all the information you need to change the tired old politics of crime and punishment. 
 
Tell party leaders that you want them to provide a general election manifesto commitment to reduce prison numbers and back instead community, health, social and restorative solutions.
 
Gordon Brown    
 
David Cameron  

Nick Clegg

Prison numbers have doubled since January 1993. The report, and introductory comment, reveals the way in which the prison population in England and Wales has spiralled out of control. By analysing the characteristics of this population, the report demonstrates the extent to which vulnerable people are failed and end up in the revolving door of the prison system: 

·        71% of children in custody have been involved with, or in the care of, social services before entering custody.
·        23% of young offenders have learning difficulties (IQ below 70) and 36% borderline learning difficulties (IQ 70-80%).
·        Home Office statistics on women in the criminal justice system found that the most common reason given for offending by women (54% of cases) was lack of money.
·        At any one time 10% of the prison population have a serious mental illness and 70% have two or more diagnosable mental health disorders.
·        Epidemiological studies show that around 55% of those received into custody are problematic drug users.
·        Surveys indicate 30% of people released from prison will have nowhere to live. This is despite the fact that stable accommodation can reduce reoffending by over 20%.
·        48% of prisoners are at, or below, the level expected of an 11 year old in reading, 65% in numeracy and 82% in writing.
·        There are thought to be over 8,000 former service men and women in custody, many of whom will have been, homeless, ill and in debt prior to imprisonment.

The report contains figures (including some published for the first time) highlighting a huge rise in the use of indeterminate sentences – life sentences and the recent sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP):

·        There were 12,520 people, almost a fifth of the sentenced prison population, serving indeterminate sentences at the end of June 2009, a rise of 10% on the year before. This compares with fewer than 4,000 in 1998 and 3,000 in 1992.
·        In October 2009, there were 5,659 prisoners serving IPP sentences, including 72 women.
·        On 31 October 2009, 2,229 of those sentenced to imprisonment for public protection were being held beyond their tariff expiry date. The average time being spent over tariff expiry is 244 days.
 
New prison costs are revealed:

·        According to the government, the overall cost of the criminal justice system has risen from 2% of GDP to 2.5% over the last ten years. That is a higher per capita level than the US or any EU country.
·        Total prisons expenditure has increased from £2.843bn in 1995 to £4.325bn in 2006 (all at 2006 prices)
·        The overall cost per prisoner per year is £41,000]
·        The average construction cost for the ‘core capacity programme’ (not all new build), incuding costs of providing ancillary facilities, and excluding running costs, is approximately £170,000 per place across the lifetime of the accommodation.
·         In 2008-09 the prison service’s capital expenditure was £4.5m over budget, at £29m, and in 2007-08 it was £7.5m over at £27m.
·        Prison service inquest costs since April 2004 total £6,080,000. Costs have risen from £901,000 in 2004-05 to £1,962,000 in 2007-08.
·        Reoffending by ex-prisoners costs society at least £11 billion per year.
 
Opinion polls conducted by ICM show public support for early intervention, community service, restorative justice, treatment for addicts and mental healthcare.
 
Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

Jail is now so commonplace that 7% of all children during their school years will experience their dad’s imprisonment, more than those affected by divorce in the family. We can no longer afford a relentlessly rising prison population with petty offenders at one end and those caught in the prolonged nightmare of indeterminate sentences at the other. Instead of empty tough talk, politicians must introduce sensible public health measures, treatment for addicts and mental health care, that will reduce the number of crime victims, lead to a safer society and leave prison for those who have committed the most serious and violent offences. Fairness and proportionality in justice are better than kneejerk laws and bingeing on imprisonment.