Soaring jail population criticised

England and Wales is again the prison capital of the EU, jailing more offenders than any other country in Western Europe.

With an average imprisonment rate of 141 per 100,000 population, the Prison Reform Trust (PRT) said the figures top the league table for the second year running with a record rate which outstrips Libya, Burma, Malaysia and Turkey.

The charity said today England and Wales used its prisons as "social dustbins" and that official Home Office figures in the world prison population list confirm courts here were more punitive than Britain's closest European neighbours.

The charity said France jailed 93 people for every 100,000 population and Germany 98 per 100,000.

Prisons 'social dustbins'

Juliet Lyon, the director of the PRT, said: "Holding the western European record for jailing people is nothing to be proud of, particularly since most return to crime on release.

"Our prisons have become social dustbins and the only way to kick this costly habit is to invest in effective drug treatment, mental health care and community sentences."

It said the imprisonment rate in England and Wales was significantly higher than it was five years ago, when it stood at 125 per 100,000.

The group said this was due to an increased severity in sentencing as the numbers of people appearing before the courts has remained stable.

More severe sentences for women

It added that first-time offenders were more likely to be sent down than previously; and women were receiving more severe sentences.

Females convicted of theft or handling at crown courts were now twice as likely to be jailed than they were in 1991; and in magistrates' courts the chances of a women being given custody has risen seven-fold, the group said.

And yet despite the increase in the prison population, the PRT said re-offending remained high with six out of ten prisoners and three-quarters of young offenders returning to crime within two years of leaving jail.

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