Longer sentences? Overcrowded UK prisons are already failing society
Retrieved on:
Tuesday, November 7, 2023
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Political pundits reacting to the speech on the BBC immediately questioned the rationale behind potentially putting more people in prison, when UK prisons are struggling to accommodate those already under their purview.
Key Points:
- Political pundits reacting to the speech on the BBC immediately questioned the rationale behind potentially putting more people in prison, when UK prisons are struggling to accommodate those already under their purview.
- The England and Wales prison watchdog has said that one in ten prisons in those two countries should be shut down because of overcrowding and inhumane regimes.
- And in September 2023 a German court in Karlsruhe followed suit, refusing to extradite a man to the UK.
The UK’s high rates of imprisonment
- British rates of imprisonment are among the highest in western Europe.
- Imprisonment rates have been climbing in England and Wales over the last 30 years, as well as in Scotland with rates described as “stubbornly high” by criminologists.
- In Northern Ireland, historically, rates of imprisonment have been closer to those in the Republic of Ireland.
How incarceration impacts prisoners, families and society
- They increase people’s risk of coming to physical harm, with rising tensions and inadequate staffing to de-escalate and respond.
- For prison staff, overcrowding intensifies an inherently complex and demanding job.
- Our research shows that the wider impact of bad prison conditions is felt by the families of loved ones in custody – and society at large.
- This in turn also adds pressure to household budgets however, for example with travel costs associated with prison visits.
- Truly addressing overcrowding has to start with reducing the number of people sent to prison in the first place.
Rebecca Foster has previously received funding from the Dawes Trust, the Scottish Government, and the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research. Kirstin Anderson previously received funding from the Scottish Government, Royal Society of Edinburgh, the British Academy and the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research.