Shopping cart
Your cart empty!
Prison population in England and Wales to hit 100,000 'later than expected', figures show
The prison population in England and Wales will hit 100,000 a year later than previously expected, the latest figures show.
According to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data published on Thursday, the number of prisoners in the two countries' jails will reach between 98,000 and 103,600 by March 2030. The central estimate, or most likely figure, is 100,600.
It means the total prison population will reach six figures a year later than projected last year, when a central figure of 100,800 was forecast for March 2029. To explain the suggested increase, the ministry pointed to a continued rise in police charges and prosecutions, more cases coming to court and increases in the numbers of offenders recalled to custody.
But the department has now said the prison population will be around 2,400 lower in September 2028 than previously thought. This is down to the impact of recent policy changes, including the emergency measure to free some criminals at an earlier point in their sentence, the ministry said.
Thousands of prisoners have been released from jail as part of efforts to tackle overcrowding since last September. Nearly 40,000 criminals in England and Wales were freed under the government's early release scheme by the end of June this year, figures show.
At the start of this month, there were 87,063 prisoners in England and Wales - 1,458 fewer than September 2024's record high of 88,521. The MoJ admitted that while its projections represent "the best available evidence.
Amir Nisi
Creative and experienced content writer with 6+ years of experience lazy to create unique content strategy for News5 to turn website visitors into customers.
Related to this topic:
AI and Marketing: Unlocking Customer Insights
Feb 22, 2024
