Immediate action is required to tackle prison overcrowding
An effective justice system should be one of the most basic expectations of any society and one that every government should see as a priority. In England and Wales, the reality is that successive governments have failed to deliver the investment and long-term focus needed to develop a system that works for us all. This crisis has been decades in the making, and it is one which affects us all now.
The prison population in England and Wales has risen significantly over recent years; currently at almost 88,000, this is almost double what it was 30 years ago. As a result, prisons are chronically overcrowded, with some prisons operating at more than 150% of their intended capacity, the worst being HMP Durham and HMP Leeds. The new Government was faced with warnings of the collapse of the whole justice system, meaning there would be nowhere to send people newly sentenced to prison, if urgent action wasn’t taken.
The new Lord Chancellor has announced a short-term emergency measure to address this crisis. The plan is to reduce the automatic release point for a person serving a determinate prison sentence from half way through their sentence to two fifths of the way through. The measure comes with some exceptions; people convicted of serious violent offences of four years or more, as well as sex offences will be automatically excluded. In addition, the Lord Chancellor has committed to providing additional support for probation by training up to 1000 new probation officers and developing a 10-year prison capacity strategy. These measures follow the previous Government’s introduction, and extension of, the End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme - an early release scheme, as well as other measures.
The crisis has understandably cast focus onto the simple maths of not having enough prison spaces to take people newly convicted of serious and dangerous crimes.
But overcrowding has other serious ramifications. It not only leads to inhumane basic living conditions, it also frequently results in significantly less access to rehabilitation support for people in prison. People are now commonly locked up for 22 hours a day, unable to access the support or interventions designed to reduce their risk of reoffending. High numbers of people are not in work or training and not getting the preparation for release we know is essential to lower this risk. Mental health problems are high due to the stress and anxiety of living in such dire conditions, with rates of self-harm at their highest ever level amongst women in prison.
For prison staff, the challenges are equally daunting. Overcrowded prisons mean more work, higher stress levels, and increased danger. It’s not just about managing more people; it’s about trying to keep the peace in a pressure cooker environment. Staff burnout and turnover rates are high, which only compounds these issues.
Several factors have contributed to prison overcrowding. The most significant is the increases we have seen to the length of prison sentences. We currently have some of the longest prison sentences in Western Europe. Yet there is little evidence that longer sentences reduce reoffending.
Emergency measures such as those the Government have announced are clearly necessary. And in the short-term, we need to make sure that steps to reduce overcrowding don’t just shift the crisis in prisons elsewhere. The Government now needs to focus on ensuring people are released with somewhere to live and access to vital support services which will give them the best chance at a second chance. We know this reduces the risk of reoffending.
We also need to move beyond crisis management and take the steps now to build an effective justice system over the long term. This must consider what the purpose of prison is, who should be sent to prison, and for how long. The Government’s manifesto commitments to reviews of sentencing and of probation governance will be critical to this.
There are obvious first steps, including ending the use of ineffective short prison sentences which have been proven time after time to be less effective at reducing reoffending than community alternatives. We also need to see a far greater shift towards early intervention and diversion away from the criminal justice system, putting support in place for those who have been disadvantaged and are at risk before they come into contact with the criminal justice system.
This is not just about numbers; it's about human lives and the effectiveness of our justice system. By rethinking our approach to sentencing; shifting our approach towards more effective early intervention, diversion and alternatives to custody; improving prison conditions; and investing in rehabilitation we can create a system that is fairer, more humane, and ultimately more effective at reducing crime. The current approach has failed for too long, it is imperative that the prison overcrowding crisis serves as a spark for creating an effective and sustainable justice system which delivers for victims and communities and better serves us all.
Campbell is the CEO of Nacro, a national social justice charity with more than 50 years' experience of changing lives, building stronger communities and reducing crime.
