Overcrowded jails could lead to violence and more crime, watchdog warns

Overcrowding in prisons could lead to growing levels of violence behind bars and more crime on Britain’s streets, a watchdog has warned.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said he is “really concerned” about the knock-on effects of jails in England and Wales getting close to capacity.

It comes after campaigners accused the Government of being “significantly behind schedule” in its pledge to build 20,000 more prison places by the mid-2020s amid warnings that jails are close to being “full”.

Outlining the findings of his latest report, Mr Taylor said overcrowding and pressures on the population in jails is “emerging as one of the biggest issues in our prisons”.

Six months ago ministers announced that up to 400 police cells would be used to hold prisoners overnight when there was not enough space in jails as they enacted a contingency plan known as Operation Safeguard.

The risk is, of course, as soon as they leave the jail, that they can revert back to their reoffending ways, and that simply creates more victims of crime

At a briefing on Wednesday, Mr Taylor said: “Where prisoners are in very cramped conditions, where they’re not let out of their cells for anything like enough time, of course there is potentially a risk that we may get increasing levels of violence.”

He told reporters public protection is “critical”, adding that if prisoners are not getting the support they need: “The risk is, of course, as soon as they leave the jail, that they can revert back to their reoffending ways, and that simply creates more victims of crime”.

Mr Taylor’s comments came a day after the Conservative chairman of the Commons Justice Committee warned that jails are “reaching breaking point”.

Sir Bob Neill told MPs there is a “real issue” with prison officer recruitment, retention and low morale.

He said the jail population “has grown substantially over the last 30 years and, as of last Friday, there are some 85,851 people in prison”.

Whilst at the same time we have one of the highest rates of imprisonment in Western Europe, we also have one of the worst rates of reoffending

“Ironically, whilst at the same time we have one of the highest rates of imprisonment in Western Europe, we also have one of the worst rates of reoffending. That dichotomy is something that successive governments have failed to address,” Sir Bob added.

Prisons including Brixton, Pentonville, Wandsworth, Winchester and Hull are “incredibly cramped”, Mr Taylor said, adding that there are “many prisoners in small cells which are designated for one person – that’s a 12ft by 6ft cell with an unscreened lavatory in the corner – and people locked up for 22, sometimes even as long as 23 hours, a day.

“That means that prisoners are not getting the rehabilitation support that they need. It means they’re locked away for long periods of time in their cell or in their wing, and we’re concerned both on the effect of prisoners while they’re locked up, but particularly on the effect to the public when they’re released.”

Prisons being “very near to their capacity” is a “huge concern”, he added.

While the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the backlog of court cases waiting to be dealt with, and other problems in the justice system may have contributed to prisons becoming overcrowded, Mr Taylor said the Government “simply hasn’t been able to open enough prisons for the number of people who have been sent to prison”.

Violence among child inmates is still too high and there are examples of “staggeringly high levels of self-harm” in some women’s prisons, he warned.

There is also an “inertia” in the wake of the pandemic, leading to empty classrooms in prisons where there is no momentum to make sure inmates are enrolled in activities to aid their rehabilitation.

The watchdog called for a “big improvement in standards” in the coming year.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk previously said he was confident the target to build 20,000 more prison places could be met.

Another prison is being built in East Yorkshire while planning permission is being sought for three other sites across the country.

A Prison Service spokesman said: “As this report suggests, there is much more work to do but we are making significant progress and the proportion of prison leavers finding work six months after release has doubled, while the report also notes the positive impact of our tougher security measures.

“At the same time, we are recruiting up to 5,000 more prison officers and creating a prisoner education service to ensure offenders have the support and skills they need to turn away from crime for good.”