You are in > manchester.com  > News > Prison population hits record high of over 82,000

Politics

Prison population hits record high of over 82,000

22/02/2008

The prison population of England and Wales has reached a new record high with over 82,000 inmates in jails.

The Ministry of Justice announced the new figures today, with the BBC claiming the figure now stood at 82,068, which was 96 over the prison service's normal operational capacity.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper earlier, justice secretary Jack Straw appealed to magistrate courts to send fewer people to jail.

Mr Straw confirmed that prison numbers were higher then official predictions published in December and said that there may be an extension to the early release scheme.

"We are now running higher than forecast. The projected population at the end of March was due to be 81,731," he said in the interview.

"The population dipped over Christmas but is has risen more than 2,000 since then."

The justice secretary said that the rise in prison numbers was a result of an increase in men being jailed by magistrates courts for short sentences and an increase in the number of ex-prisoners being recalled to jail for breaching bail conditions.

Mr Straw called on magistrates to hand down non-custodial sentences instead of short prison sentences.

"We have 350 magistrates courts in England and Wales. If each one ends up sentencing one more extra prisoner a week to jail then we have the increase we face.

"There are effective alternatives in terms of non-custodial penalties which actually have a better record in terms of preventing re-offending than short prison sentences," he said.

The Conservatives accused Mr Straw of seeking "weak alternatives" for repeat and serial offenders.

"Victims of crime will be outraged at the suggestion that criminals should be shared jail simply because of this government's incompetence in failing to provide sufficient prison places," shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said.

"It would be quite wrong for the government to extend its early release scheme which has already seen almost 20,000 prisoners freed onto the streets and a murder committed.

"The prisons are literally full, but instead of doing its duty and securing emergency capacity to protect the public, the government's response is to give criminal a break," he said.

A Ministry of Justice said that whilst the operational capacity had been exceeded, it was still possible to house all the prisoners.

"We are making use of all the cells that wouldn’t normally be able to use," a statement said.

"In addition, a limited number of court cells have been made available as a measure of last resort to help ensure that exceptional population pressures can be managed safely and securely."