05 October 2006

No more room in UK prisons

Prisons in the UK are almost full. Of 80,000 places available, only around 160 remain available.

When I first heard the story, and I heard the 80,000 figure, I immediately thought "That's not many" After all, this is a country with around 56 million inhabitants. 80,000 prison places is not a lot.

So who's fault is it? Surely the responsibility lies with the government? Law enforcement ultimately lies at the governments door. It would seem we need more prisons, but I assume building more is a lengthy process. UK prisons are full, now. We don't have time to wait. Doesn't mean they shouldn't start building two or three more though

In the meantime, I assume that we will have to put up with prisoners being released early, & criminals knowing that being sent to prison is becoming less & less likely, as there is no room for them.

Poor management by the government all round, it seems. But I suppose we are used to that by now, from Blair's government.

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