Man jailed for 'orgy of violence' in Sunderland, more riot cases in court

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The prison overcrowding crisis is not the result of the riots, but has been developing for 30 years. It may seem like ancient history, but a series of political decisions have predestined this year's crisis.

Between 1993 and 2012, the prison population in England and Wales doubled to around 80,000 as Conservative and Labour governments introduced changes that resulted in higher prison numbers. From around 1999, the average length of a prison sentence also increased.

About a third of all offenders released from prison reoffend within a year – that is, many end up back in prison – and that number doubles if someone has been incarcerated for less than six months. So, despite falling crime rates, the prison population has continued to rise.

All this meant that Boris Johnson’s government had to promise 20,000 new cells, external At a cost of £4 billion, the programme was massively behind schedule when the Tories lost power in July this year.

By May 2025, only 8,000 of these places will be available – and given current demand, those responsible fear that this number may not be enough anyway.

Cuts in funding for courts and judges, the Covid-19 pandemic and the loss of criminal defence lawyers due to poor pay have led to an extraordinary backlog in prosecutions.

This means that a record 17,000 of the people currently incarcerated are simply being held in storage awaiting trial. If they need help to overcome their criminal past, they will not be able to get it until they are convicted.

And that is why most experts believe that Sir Keir Starmer's government must bring about a generational change in the way prisons function and the way rehabilitation is carried out if this circular crisis is ever to be resolved.