Another mismatch
Our prison system is now in a genuine crisis. The number of prisoners has for the first time risen above total capacity. There are now over 82,000 inmates in England and Wales, almost 100 above the normal ceiling set by the Prison Service.
According to the chief inspector of prisons, Britain’s overfilled jails are now at ‘panic stations’ and she is unsure how long the system ‘can contain this kind of huge pressure’.
This is the result of sheer incompetence by the government. It has ignored repeated warnings that extra cells were needed and failed to build adequate capacity. The government’s response so far has been to release over 16,000 criminals early and to seek to prevent magistrates from passing custodial sentences.
Not only does this place the public at risk it also has negative consequences for the prisoners themselves. I know from dealings with Highpoint prison in my constituency that overcrowding often leads to easier access to drugs. With so many prisoners dependent or forced into drugs, this does little for their successful rehabilitation.
The catastrophic mismanagement of our prisons cannot continue, but if it does, it will make a mockery of the endless criminal justice legislation this Government has introduced without spending the money to house convicted individuals.