Majority of prisons 'overcrowded'
There are 7,294 more people in the system than it is designed and
built to hold, according to an analysis of prison population statistics
by the Prison Reform Trust.
Although the growth in the prison population has slowed down in
recent months, there were 77 out of 131 establishments over the Prison
Service's Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) as of July 27, said the
trust.
CNA is "the good, decent standard of accommodation that the Service
aspires to provide all prisoners", a Trust spokesman added. The most
overcrowded prison in England and Wales, according to official figures,
is HMP Kennet in Liverpool, Merseyside, said the spokesman.
Designed to hold 175 men, it now holds 337. In second place is
Shrewsbury (built to hold 170 men, it holds 326) and third is Swansea
(built for 240, it holds 436).
The spokesman said: "For people in prison themselves, overcrowding
has a tangible impact. Figures for 2010/11 show that nearly a quarter of
people in prison are being held in overcrowded accommodation, either
doubling up in cells designed for one occupant or being held three to a
cell in cells designed for two people. Private prisons have held a
higher percentage of their prisoners in overcrowded accommodation than
public sector prisons every year for the 13 years to 2010/11.
"Overcrowding makes it much harder for staff to work intensively with
offenders on resettlement. Currently 47% of adults reoffend within a
year of leaving prison, rising to almost 57% for those who had served a
sentence of less than 12 months. Nearly 70% of children (10-17) released
from custody reoffend within a year."
Juliet Lyon, director of the trust, said: "Building our way out of
the overcrowding problem is not the answer. The prison population can be
safely reduced by curbing inflation in sentencing, calling a halt to
any unnecessary use of custodial remand, dealing with addictions and
investing in effective community penalties.
"Court ordered community sentences are more effective, by eight
percentage points, at reducing one-year proven reoffending rates than
custodial sentences of less than 12 months for similar offences. Rather
than falling back on short, ineffective spells behind bars, investment
in more intensive community sentences and public health solutions would
cut crime and save the taxpayer money."
A Prison Service spokeswoman said: "All of our prisons provide
acceptable levels of accommodation for prisoners, although some prisons
hold more people than they were originally designed for. We are aiming
to reduce the existence of crowding alongside reducing the cost of the
prison estate."
