Revise and reset
| Published date | 01 June 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/02645505241258643 |
| Author | Nicola Carr |
| Date | 01 June 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
Revise and reset
The crisis within the prison system is continuing. Warning signals that prisons were
reaching capacity have been sounded for some time. Despite having one of the
highest rates of imprisonment in Europe, the prison population in England and
Wales continues to rise. Official analysis attributes this to factors including growth
in police charging and prosecutorial decisions, the impacts of courts dealing with
the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) backlog, and changes in sentencing pol-
icies and behaviour, which have resulted in longer prison sentences. This ‘perfect
storm’–more people going to prison and staying there for longer –means that the
prison population of England and Wales is predicted to rise even further in the
coming years. Official estimates suggesting that it will rise to anywhere between
94,600 and 114,800 between 2023 and 2028 (MoJ, 2024). Concerningly these
projections have been revised upwards from the previous year’sforecast(MoJ,
2023).
1
A high remand population is also a contributory factor in the population
growth. At approximately 16,000, the remand population currently accounts for
approximately 18% of the total number of people in prison.
2
The current government is proceeding with a plan of prison expansionism, with a
further 10,000 prison places by 2025 in development. Those anticipating (or
hoping for) a change in policy under any new administration will be disappointed
to hear that the Labour Shadow Justice Secretary has committed to continuing plans
for prison building. In the meantime, at beyond the point of capacity and in the wake
of increasing evidence of unsafe conditions, the policy of early release to relieve
immediate pressure on prisons, has been extended. The End of Custody Supervised
Licence (ECSL) was introduced in October 2023 and allowed for the early release
from custody of certain prisoners. The scheme initially provided for up to 18 days
early release but has since been expanded to allow for up to 70 days early
release. No figures are yet publicly available on the number of prisoners released
under the scheme (despite calls for this information to be published), but it is patently
evident that the requirements for probation services accommodate the scheme has
placed further pressure on an overburdened probation system. This was entirely
predictable.
The introduction and expansion of ECSL have meant that other areas have
had to be de-prioritised in order to cope with increased workloads in an already
over-burdened probation service. This has been badged as a ‘Probation Reset.’
Editorial The Journal of Communit
y
and Criminal Justice
Probation Journal
2024, Vol. 71(2) 113–115
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/02645505241258643
journals.sagepub.com/home/prb
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