Prisons at 99% capacity and 60% overcrowded, finds new study

A new study has found that prisons in England and Wales are at 99% capacity.

Prisons in England and Wales are almost full, with most overcrowded and their population dominated by men, according to a report for the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, to which Manchester Met contributed.

The study found that the prison estate is operating at 99% of its usable operational capacity, with over 60% overcrowded and 94% of people in prison comprising adult men.

Driving the current prison population growth, according to the study, is changes to sentencing policy including increased sentence lengths, as well as other factors such as prisoner remand, recall and reoffending.

England and Wales have the highest prison population in Western Europe, with a record high of over 88,000 people imprisoned in October 2023, in a prison estate with a maximum capacity of 88,890.

Kevin Wong, Reader in Community Justice and co-author of the report, said: “When prisons approach capacity it can lead to negative implications for their safe operation, and for the health, wellbeing and rehabilitation of people in prison.

“We were pleased to contribute to this important report for the Parliamentary Office, and hopefully play our part in understanding the current overcrowding situation, while offering possible solutions to reduce capacity.”

Policy options to reduce overcrowding outlined in the report include the greater use of non-custodial sentences, and interventions to reduce the remand and recall populations.

Read the full report, Prison population growth: drivers, implications and policy considerations, here.