Decades of investing in the wrong places has led to the prison capacity crisis: Howard League responds to Independent Review

The Howard League for Penal Reform has responded to the report of the Independent Review of Prison Capacity, published today (Tuesday 5 August).

The review by Dame Anne Owers, a former Chief Inspector of Prisons, highlights the impact of the most recent capacity crisis on prisons and recommends a move away from crisis management and towards strategic, preventative action.

Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This review into prison capacity spells out in forensic detail how the government has found itself facing the prospect of running out of cells. It is a crisis, or more accurately a series of crises, that has been brewing over several decades and across successive governments.

“If the ultimate cause of the crisis is sentence inflation, as identified by the Howard League in its work and by the Independent Sentencing Review led by David Gauke, then this review lays bare the failings of previous political responses to the problem. Over the years governments have responded to sentence inflation not by trying to manage demand on the prison system by tackling that inflation, but by focusing on the supply side with commitments to build more and more prison places.

“As Dame Anne Owers says, prison capacity is not just about creating enough space to house people but about whether prisons have the capacity and the resources to provide safe environments that can reduce reoffending. Sadly, the prison system as it stands is very far from being able to meet that ambition, and pledges to build more prison places risk simply making a dysfunctional system even larger and even more dysfunctional again.

“The review is correct to conclude that prison capacity crises will keep recurring unless there is sufficient investment outside prison – both in probation and in other community services – to support those being released and to tackle some of the underlying causes of offending. It is time to stop pouring money into building new prisons and to start investing in services that can cut crime in the community.”

Notes to editors

1. The Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the world. It is a national charity working for less crime, safer communities and fewer people in prison.
2. For detailed analysis of how sentencing policy failures have contributed to the prison capacity crisis, read the explainer article ‘What is sentence inflation?’ on the Howard League website: https://howardleague.org/what-is-sentence-inflation/
3. For more information about the prison overcrowding crisis, read the explainer article ‘Why are prisons overcrowded?’ on the Howard League website: https://howardleague.org/why-are-prisons-overcrowded/

Contact

Andrew Neilson
Director of Campaigns
Tel: +44 (0)7918 681 094
Email: [email protected]