What's been going on with the prison population?
The House of Commons Justice Committee has published our evidence to its inquiry into the prison population and prison capacity.
In our evidence, we point out that changes in the prison population over time are the result of political and policy choices by governments and parliament.
As a result of these choices, whether it is the average prison population over given political periods (columns), or the annual trend (line), the only way, for many years, has been up.
Though fewer people are being sent to prison than a decade ago, those who are sent to prison are are spending longer and longer inside.
The number of shorter prison sentences fell between 2010 and 2022. The number of longer sentences grew, sometimes by a lot. The number of sentences over 15 years (excluding life sentences) grew by 250 per cent.
Most countries in Europe do not send people back to prison (recall) if they break their release conditions. We do. A lot.
In 1993, fewer than 100 people were in prison following recall. By 2023, over 12,000 were.
The rise in recalls is a key reason why our prisons are so full.
Prison population forecasts are pointing to big future rises in the population.
The latest forecast estimates the population will hit between 93,100 and 106,300 by March 2027.
That’s a rise of between 5,000 and nearly 20,000 from the current population of around 87,700.
Read more about what’s been going on with the prison population, and what needs to be done, in our written evidence to the House of Commons Justice Committee Inquiry into the prison population and prison capacity.