Prison overcrowding, staffing shortages and deteriorating infrastructure are having a ‘profound impact on the ability of prisons to deliver rehabilitation’, MPs said
Offenders are going on to commit more crime after being released from jail due to a prison system operating in constant crisis mode, MPs have warned today.
Prison overcrowding, staffing shortages and deteriorating infrastructure are having a “profound impact on the ability of prisons to deliver rehabilitation”, the Commons’ Justice Committee has warned.
In a scathing report, MPs found a “widespread failure” to meet the statutory minimum for time out of cell, with many prisoners locked up for 22 hours or more each day.
And they said they were “shocked” by the dire living conditions that many prisoners are living in and that it was “deeply concerning to hear that prisons may be in violation of human rights legislation”.
The committee said it was “unsurprising” that 80% of crime in England and Wales is reoffending after hearing how prisoners are “languishing” in their cells because of capacity issues.
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It added that it is “unacceptable” that 50% of prisoners are not involved in prison education or work, despite the high level of need across the adult estate.
“Purposeful activity, including education, work, and offending behaviour programmes, is central to rehabilitation, yet it is inconsistently delivered and often deprioritised,” the MPs said.
They called for a clear plan to improve both participation and quality in prison education to be published by the Government.
Separately, a study by the UK’s prison officers union found jail staff feel undervalued, stressed, have low morale and are frequently exposed to abuse, violence and aggression.
In a survey by the Prison Officers Association, 72% of officers said they are frequently stressed at work, 80% said their prison was in desperate need of modernisation and 83% said there is not enough activity space for prisoners in their care.
Steve Gillan, General Secretary of the POA said: “What we need is urgent action to address understaffing, overcrowding and daily violent incidents, all of which is having a major impact on staff well- being and morale and we need longer term investment in the Prison Estate to ensure it is fit for purpose and allows POA members to do the job they are trained to do.”
Chair of the Justice Committee and Labour MP Andy Slaughter said: “Prison rehabilitation and efforts to break the cycle of reoffending aren’t working and cannot succeed in a system which is facing critical pressures on so many fronts.
“Ministers must act fast to fix the basics and give greater attention to purposeful rehabilitation programmes across jails. Continuing with a cyclical system in crisis mode which offers little real opportunity to turn around prisoners’ lives is a false economy.”
Prisons minister Lord Timpson said: “This report reflects the prison system crisis we inherited – with overcrowded and understaffed jails breeding further crime rather than helping break the cycle of reoffending.
“We’ve already taken decisive action to end the crowding chaos and are building 14,000 new prison places, reforming sentencing and investing millions in vital maintenance, so prisons can focus on rehabilitating offenders and keeping the public safe.”