The prison population in England and Wales has reached a record high, with figures released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on Friday indicating a rise of 1,159 since 2 August. There are now 88,521 inmates, which represents the highest level on record. Meanwhile, a government early release scheme gets underway next week, with approximately 3,000 prisoners in England and Wales due to be freed early from jail. Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, admitted to being “shocked” at the state of the prison system when asked about a BBC report from inside HMP Pentonville in north London. He stated that without the early release programme, there would be a crisis in prisons.
As of Friday, the prison system had only 1,098 places available, representing just 1.2% of total capacity. Sir Keir acknowledged that he did not want to release prisoners who should remain in jail, but expressed a belief that the situation had reached a crisis point. The early release policy will not apply to those convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse and certain violent offences. Sir Keir has pledged that risk assessments will be undertaken to ensure that high-risk prisoners are not released.
HMP Pentonville is scheduled to release 16 inmates as part of the scheme and currently has only nine free beds. The prison was built in 1842 and was initially designed to accommodate 520 people in single cells. It currently has an operational capacity of 1,205, with two people per cell. Dame Angela Eagle, Home Office minister, said that the MoJ was exploring any means necessary to tackle the problem of overcrowding, adding that the previous government had closed lots of prison places and failed to replace them.
Former chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, suggested that the early release programme would alleviate pressure in the short term, but would create other problems, including reoffending and homelessness among those released. Reports suggest that the government had weighed the possibility of renting jail cells outside the UK to ease the pressure on the prison system. However, a government spokesperson has denied any plan or announcement had been made with regard to sending prisoners to Estonia. A 10-year strategy to address the problem is due to be published in the coming weeks
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