'100 men's prison spaces left in England and Wales' amid overcrowding crisis
manchestereveningnews.co.ukThere are 100 spaces left in men’s prisons in England and Wales, it is understood. The system, currently in the middle of an overcrowding crisis, is normally under greater pressure after a bank holiday weekend, which eases once courts reopen.
On Friday (August 23) magistrates were told to delay jailing criminals as the number of people in prison hit a new weekly high, PA reports.
The prison population then stood at 88,234, the highest end of week number since weekly data was first published, back in 2011. READ MORE Horrific moment masked thugs pour petrol across shop floor and set it alight Earlier this month a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesperson said that more than 500 places will be made available in the coming weeks.
They added: “The new Government inherited a justice system in crisis and has been forced into taking difficult but necessary action to ensure we can keep locking up dangerous criminals and protect the public. “Staff across the whole criminal justice system are working incredibly hard and the Government will continue to support them before the changes come into effect on September 10.” Plans are in place to release some inmates early to relieve overcrowding, and emergency measures have already been brought into force in the north of England to allow prisoners to be held in police cells.
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