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   Prison population in England and Wales reaches record high
The prison population in England and Wales reached a record high today, the Government said. Ministry of Justice statistics confirmed the total reached 85,201, 192 more than last Friday. Managing prisoner numbers was not covered in more detailed plans published by the new coalition Government yesterday. But campaigners have already called for Justice Secretary Ken Clarke to freeze the building of new prisons and stop the number of inmates rising further. A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "The total prison population on Friday May 21 was 85,201. This is 192 more than last Friday when the total was 85,009. "Useable operational capacity was 87,698. In addition Operation Safeguard remains in place and can provide up to 400 places." In February the then justice secretary Jack Straw announced the end of an early release scheme which saw more than 80,000 offenders let out. No prisoners were eligible for the controversial End of Custody Licence (ECL) scheme after March 12 and the last remaining ECL prisoners were out on April 9. The figures heightened fears that new measures will be needed to relieve pressures on the prison estate. It will provoke criticism from prison campaign groups who want the Government to address an overcrowding crisis. Source: 24dash.com Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
