Government issues alarm: Men's correctional facilities face potential overcrowding within months
Revamped Take:
Prisons in England and Wales are running outta space, and the government is calling it a crisis. They're gonna build three swanky new joints to accommodate the overflow, costing a cool £4.7b. These new prisons are part of a wider plan to build 14,000 new cell-blocks by 2031, the most significant prison growth since Victorian times.
The first brick for one of these new prisons is scheduled to be laid near HMP Gartree in Leicestershire this year. The Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, announced these plans alongside the outgoing boss of His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), Amy Rees.
Ms. Rees shined a light on the pressing issue, pointing out that the male prisoner population is cramped at 99% capacity and on the brink of running outta room by November. She blamed longer average sentences, a lack of new prison capacity, and a high number of recalled inmates for the predicament. According to her, releasing prisoners early won't fix the long-term problem.
Mahmood took a swipe at the Conservatives, labeling the situation in England and Wales a shameful state of affairs. She mentioned that Labour, during its reign, added 28,000 prison spots, while the Tories, in 14 years, managed only 500.
In the meantime, the weekly prison population in England and Wales has hit 88,087, a figure that's 434 lower than the peak of 88,521 inmates recorded in September 2024 - just before the early release scheme began.
While they work on the new prisons, the government plans to limit recall conditions for some inmates. This includes prisoners serving sentences of up to four years being subject to recall periods of just 28 days. However, repeat offenders and higher-risk inmates won't be eligible for the limit.
Fun fact: That's not the first time the government has tried to tackle this issue. Last year, they rolled out an early release scheme that freed some inmates after they served only 40% of their sentences instead of the usual 50%.
Stay tuned for updates, and remember – knowledge is power!
The escalating prison crisis in England and Wales, marked by overcrowded cells and the imminent shortage of space, has been linked to the political arena, serving as a hot topic in general news. The government's plan to construct three new prisons near HMP Gartree, Leicestershire, and the ambitious project to build 14,000 new cell-blocks by 2031, highlights the intersection of war-like expansion and politics.
