Britain seeks solutions for overcrowded prisons
For the past 30 years, the number of inmates in Britain has doubled. The country has a prison problem. Prisons are overcrowded, conditions are catastrophic. The new government is facing a long-neglected and not easily solvable problem.
Britain has magnificent palaces to offer, but the biggest problem lies in the darkest places. Prisons in the country are at risk of overcapacity. The justice system may soon face the question of where criminals will be housed. "It's worse than I thought," says the new Labour Party Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
His social democratic government, which took over from the conservative Tories a week ago, is now taking its first step. According to media reports, it is considering releasing prisoners earlier than before.
A warning was issued at the end of June that it would only be a matter of days before prisons had no room left. "Within weeks, this would present a risk to the public," wrote the Prison Governors' Association.
Double the number of people in prison
Currently, around 87,500 people are incarcerated in England and Wales - with approximately 88,900 usable spaces. A BBC quote from a prison employee: "We have two inmates in a cell where the toilet has overflowed. We had no other option ... The stench was so bad that you couldn't breathe."
In the past 30 years, the number of incarcerated people has doubled, despite the crime rate declining, writes the think tank Institute for Government. One reason for the crisis is longer prison sentences. The sentences handed down at the Crown Courts - the courts that handle serious cases - have been on average a quarter longer than in 2012.
Part of the reason is that more serious crimes have been judged. "But the same criminal offenses are now being sentenced with longer sentences," the paper from the think tank states. The sentencing length for robbery, for example, was 13 months longer in the previous year than in 2012.
Harsh sentences, few chances
The British justice system places more emphasis on punishment than on rehabilitation, a concept emphasized in Germany. In particularly serious cases, for example, a "whole-life order" can be imposed: a life sentence, where people are supposed to never leave prison again.
According to the think tank, the number of people incarcerated has increased significantly in recent years, especially those in remand - because many cases are backed up at the courts - or those who have to return to prison because they have violated parole. The devastating conclusion: More justice ministers and prime ministers have neglected this issue.
How the government plans to address the problem
Britain's new government is therefore facing several challenges in the justice system. To relieve the prisons, the new Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood could announce that prisoners will be released when they have served 40% instead of the previous 50% of their sentences. This should ease the pressure on prisons, but not for serious violent or sexual offenses.
Critics warn against early releases as they would also carry risks and even create new problems. Previous government emergency measures allowed offenders to be released up to ten weeks earlier. There is confusion, writes the Institute for Government. Many still don't have housing, which would challenge the probation system.
Reducing the minimum sentence is fundamentally a viable idea from the think tank's perspective. Additionally, one could consider sending more people with minor offenses to house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor. In the long run, however, more prisons would need to be built and the sentencing system rethought.
The think tank Institute for Government highlights that the number of incarcerated individuals in Great Britain has doubled over the past 30 years, despite a decline in crime rates. This prison crisis in Britain, as described by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has led the new Labour Party government to consider releasing prisoners earlier than before. Introducing early releases could potentially alleviate prison overcrowding, but international institutions might raise concerns about the potential risks and new problems this solution could bring.
