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Why are there almost no prison places left in England and Wales? | Prison News

Prisons in England and Wales are facing a severe overcrowding crisis, with reports suggesting there are fewer than 100 places available in men's prisons.

According to the Ministry of Justice, prisons have been over 99 percent full since the beginning of 2023.

At the end of last week, the number of prisoners in the UK stood at 88,234, according to official figures, 341 more than the previous Friday. On Wednesday, British media quoted the Prison Guards' Association as saying that there were only 83 places left in men's prisons.

Last Friday, magistrates' courts in England and Wales – the lower courts that deal with minor criminal cases – were told they would have to postpone hearings of offenders on bail who face a prison sentence until at least 10 September.

The Labour government, which came to power in a landslide victory last month, has repeatedly condemned the previous ruling party, the Conservatives, for its neglect of the justice system, saying its inaction led to the current crisis.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a former attorney general, said on Tuesday he “could not believe” that he would have to count the number of available prison spaces to accommodate inmates arrested for their involvement in the far-right riots targeting Muslims and minorities earlier this month.

“Not having enough prison space is as fundamental a flaw as you can imagine. And these people throwing rocks, setting cars on fire and making threats not only knew the system was broken, they bet on it and took advantage of it,” he said.

But why are prisons in England and Wales so overcrowded and what is being done to fix this problem?

How quickly has the prison population in England and Wales increased?

The United Kingdom has the highest incarceration rate in Western Europe, and the prison population has risen sharply since the pandemic, due to backlogs, delays in trials and a new rule for serious criminals, who will have to serve at least two-thirds of their sentence behind bars under a draft law in 2023.

According to Prison Service figures, 23 percent of inmates had to share a cell due to overcrowding in 2022-2023.

The Ministry of Justice expects the number of prisoners to rise to 95,000 to 114,000 by 2027 once the backlog of cases has been cleared.

Official figures from last year show that district courts dealt with more than 1.33 million criminal cases of varying severity.

Why is there no longer enough space in prisons in England and Wales?

Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison, Correctional and Mental Health Workers' Union, confirmed to Al Jazeera that there were only 83 places left in men's prisons.

He said prisons were in this situation because the previous government had been warned over the past “five or six years that it would need at least 96,000 prison places” to meet demand.

“[But] The government has not followed this advice and has not provided enough places,” he said.

“They have not built enough prisons and have not created enough space in the existing prisons. On the back of their [the Conservatives’] During their 14 years in power, they closed 20 public prisons and lost 10,700 cell spaces. If they had invested in these prisons and modernized them, we would not be in this situation now.”

The recent right-wing extremist unrest in Britain has further exacerbated the crisis.

Prosecutors are seeking to speed up the proceedings against those accused of taking part in the unrest. Around 1,000 people have been arrested in the wake of the unrest. So far, 466 people have been charged after courts have been working around the clock to hear the cases of those arrested during the unrest.

What is the new government doing to deal with the crisis?

Following the unrest earlier this month, the government declared “Operation Early Dawn.” Under this operation, defendants awaiting trial are held in police station cells and only summoned to magistrates' courts when space becomes available in prisons.

The measure is intended to reduce the number of new prisoners in the already overcrowded prisons.

In July, new Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood also announced plans to reduce the minimum prison sentence from 50 percent to 40 percent.

Then last Friday, district courts were ordered to postpone hearings of offenders facing prison sentences.

“There is now only one way to avert disaster. I have not decided to do this because I want to… but we are taking all the protective measures at our disposal. Let me make it clear that this is an emergency measure,” Mahmood said.

“This is not a permanent change. I firmly believe that criminals must be punished,” she added.

The changes are expected to come into force in September and will result in 5,500 people being released in September and October.

However, Nasrul Ismail, a lecturer in criminology at the University of Bristol, told Al Jazeera that the emergency measure of holding defendants in police cells raised “significant concerns about costs, rehabilitation and sustainability”.

“For example, between February and July 2023, an average of 274 police cells were used every day to address the prison capacity crisis, equivalent to £612 [$806.48] per day – six times higher than the average cost per prison place per day,” said Ismail.

“Police cells are not designed for medium or long-term prison sentences, making it almost impossible to offer effective rehabilitation programs,” he added.

Which types of prisoners will see their sentences reduced?

The temporary measure to reduce the minimum prison term does not apply to persons convicted of sexual offences, terrorism, domestic violence or other violent offences.

Those involved in the recent unrest are also not entitled to a reduction in sentence.

A press release from the Justice Department in July said that all those released would be “strictly monitored.”

What does this mean for society?

Fairhurst said the temporary measures would affect everyone because “what was swift justice for some will be justice delayed for others”.

“What do victims of crime think of someone who, for example, was sentenced to 10 years in prison but actually only has to serve four years? That does not reflect well on the government or the prison system,” he said.

“I think it is important to note that this is a temporary measure and will probably only last a maximum of 18 months before the government needs to develop a long-term strategy,” he added.

Ismail said that due to overcrowding, there are not enough effective rehabilitation programs for prisoners, which could also lead to further societal impacts.

He added that if a prisoner is released early due to the temporary measures, the problem of a “severely overburdened” accommodation and probation service arises.

“This makes a comprehensive reform of the entire criminal justice system urgently necessary and not just limited to addressing the lack of space in prisons,” Ismail said.

What should the government do now?

In the run-up to the general election in July, the Labour Party's manifesto included a commitment to provide 14,000 prison places at a cost of four billion pounds (5.2 billion dollars).

However, Fairhurst said this would not solve the problem in isolation. “I think we need to reduce the prison population and I think a good way to do that would be to stop the programme of building new prisons and put that £4 billion back into public services,” he said.

He argued that using the money to fund probation and mental health services would combat the overcrowding crisis and make society “far safer” than using the money to create new prison spaces, which would result in more people being convicted to fill the spaces.

Ismail also said the government should take more preventive measures and fund rehabilitation programs and youth clubs to reduce the crime rate.

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