Prison population reaches new record high

Prison overcrowding continues despite early release

Friday, 28, Sep 2007 12:00

The prison population has reached a new record high, despite the government attempting to ease prison overcrowding by releasing some offenders early.

The Ministry of Justice confirms the prison population has reached a record 81,135.

With a total prison capacity of 81,915, it does not appear that the prisoner early release scheme, announced in June, has succeeded in easing the prison crisis.

The figures also show the government has been forced to house 331 prisoners in police cells, reversing the gains made since early April 2007.

Ministers have committed to building more prison cells in a bid to accommodate new offenders, with the government insisting people who commit crime must be locked up.

The Liberal Democrats argue the prison population figures will give Jack Straw a "monthly headache" until decisive action is taken.

This will mean the government accepting some prisoners are better treated in secure mental health treatment centres or drug rehabilitation centres, the Lib Dem's justice spokesman David Heath said.

He continued: "Unless the government is serious about breaking the cycle of reoffending, in which prisons act increasingly as a revolving door for repeat offenders, our overburdened prison system will remain under severe stain and we will not be able to cut crime."

Mr Heath criticised the government's entire handling of the prison crisis as "consistently marked by a mixture of incompetence and panic measures".

The Conservatives reiterated their criticism of the early release scheme, arguing Mr Brown's promise to punish criminals appeared to be "another cynical sham".

Shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert said the government had to come up with a strategy for solving the prison crisis without relying on early release.

Mr Herbert said the early release scheme had failed to make any significant impact on prison numbers but allowed 6,000 offenders, including 1,000 violent offenders, to be released early.

He said: "What do the ministers, who claimed to put the justice system on the side of the public, now have to say to those who have become victims of crimes that would not have been committed if these offenders had been safely behind bars?"

Yesterday, Mr Straw said he wanted to "rebalance" the law so it was seen to be standing up for the rights of victims.