Latest news with #prisonexpansion
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Bridgend: HMP Parc prison expansion plan details revealed
A prison in Bridgend could expand to house another 345 inmates, with an increase of 160 staff. The company behind the development, Galliford Try Construction Limited, says it hopes to submit a full planning application for the proposed works in of the public have been asked to give their views on early proposals to expand HMP Ministry of Justice, which owns the prison, has been approached for comment. HMP Parc is a category B prison which opened in 1997, and currently accommodates 1,670 prisoners and 676 prison has recently been criticised for failing to tackle an "alarming" amount of drug that have led to a "spate" of expansion proposals, which are subject to the consultation, include demolishing and repositioning parts of the boundary wall, building a K-shaped block to accommodate the extra prisoners, and a new gym and multifaith building. The plans also include a new access road to the north of the site, and a new car park to the Ministry of Justice, which owns the prison, has been asked to comment.G4S, which runs the prison, declined to county council said no planning application had been received at this stage, but its own consultation process would take place if that were to happen.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
More emergency measures to cut jail overcrowding before ‘zero capacity' reached
The Justice Secretary has announced more emergency measures to curb prison overcrowding as she warned jails are on track to be down to 'zero capacity' by November. Shabana Mahmood unveiled changes to prison recall on Wednesday, with criminals serving between one and four years of jail time being returned to custody only for 'a fixed 28-day period'. Offenders are recalled to prison if they commit another offence or breach licence conditions, such as by missing probation appointments, when they are released early but remain on licence. Currently those serving between one to four-year sentences can be recalled for a fixed term of 28 days, when they are automatically re-released, or for a standard term, which is for the remainder of their sentence or when the Parole Board decides they can be released earlier. It is hoped the move, which is expected to create 1,400 prison places, will 'buy time' before sentencing reforms expected to come into force next spring. Legislation to bring in the changes is expected to be introduced in the coming weeks. Ms Mahmood also announced three new prisons will be built starting this year, as part of a 'record prison expansion', but admitted 'we cannot build our way out of this crisis'. Of the recall changes, the Lord Chancellor said: 'It buys us the time we need to introduce the sentencing reforms that – alongside our record prison-building plans – will end the crisis in our prisons for good. 'The consequences of failing to act are unthinkable, but they must be understood. 'If our prisons overflow, courts cancel trials, police halt their arrests, crime goes unpunished and we reach a total breakdown of law and order.' The recall change will exclude those who commit serious crimes, such as violent and sexual offences, or are recalled for committing a further serious offence. They will still be subject to standard recall to serve the remainder of their sentence behind bars or until an earlier release is determined by the Parole Board. 'We also will exclude those who are subject to higher levels of risk management by multiple agencies where the police, prisons and probation services work together,' the Justice Secretary said. Ms Mahmood told reporters the recall population has 'more than doubled' in seven years. In 2018 the figure was 6,000, but it had climbed to 13,600 by March this year. The three new prisons will go ahead on existing Ministry of Justice land and create around 5,000 places, after securing a capital investment of £4.7 billion. Ms Mahmood said officials will be 'breaking ground' on a site near HMP Gartree in Leicestershire 'later this year'. She added: 'This is a record prison expansion, and after the long delays under the last government, who allowed their backbenchers to block every project, we are building at breakneck pace.' But she said that despite the record building, the population is 'rising too fast' and despite the funding announced on Wednesday, by spring 2028 'we will be 9,500 places short'. The latest weekly prison population in England and Wales was 88,087, 434 below the last peak of 88,521 inmates on September 6, recorded just before the Government began freeing thousands of prisoners early as part of efforts to curb overcrowding. Ministers ordered early releases by temporarily reducing the proportion of sentences some prisoners must serve behind bars from 50% to 40%. Amy Rees, the Ministry of Justice's interim permanent secretary, said the Government would 'run out of prison places in just five months' time' if further measures were not taken. 'On our current trajectory, the prison population rises by 3,000, and now we expect to hit zero capacity, to entirely run out of prison places for adult men, in November of this year,' she said. Early release measures have 'only bought the service time', Ms Rees added, including the Government's decision to reduce early release to 40% of sentences. Reacting to the fresh measures on Wednesday, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Labour was 'making the problem worse'. He said: 'Under Labour's new rules, instead of being recalled to serve the rest of their sentence, they'll be given a fixed-term recall of a pitiful 28 days. 'They are then released, with no reassessment of risk or Parole Board oversight. 'That is not justice. It's a recipe for the breakdown of law and order. 'By telling prisoners that they will never serve their full sentence, even if they reoffend, the Justice Secretary has removed an important deterrent.' The emergency announcement comes ahead of the independent sentencing review, led by former justice secretary David Gauke, which has been looking at tougher punishments outside of prison as part of Government efforts to tackle jail overcrowding. The recommendations for reform are expected to be published in the coming weeks. Chief executive of charity Howard League for Penal Reform, Andrea Coomber KC, said the recall change was a 'logical step to take' when the recall population is rising so quickly, and said the upcoming sentencing review is a chance for 'a lasting solution to this mess'. 'There is no time to lose, and only bold reform will do,' she said. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Prison Officers Association (POA) said building new prisons will 'not improve the current population crisis'. 'The Government would be better off spending billions of taxpayers' money on modernising the prison estate, funding an under-resourced probation service, providing more secure mental health beds and ensuring we have robust community sentences that the public have confidence in,' Mark Fairhurst said.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Justice Secretary announces ‘record prison expansion' to tackle overcrowding
Three new prisons will be built starting this year, as part of a 'record prison expansion', Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said, as the Government grapples with near-full jails. Ms Mahmood also announced a shake-up of prison recall measures which means prisoners serving between one and four years' jail time can be returned to prison only for 'a fixed 28-day period'. Offenders are recalled to prison if they commit another offence when they are released early but remain on licence. A standard recall currently results in offenders being taken back to prison for the remainder of their sentence, but this can be for shorter fixed-terms in some circumstances. The latest measures are aimed at dealing with the scale of the continuing crisis in prisons, as the latest weekly prison population in England and Wales stands at 88,087. This is 434 below the last peak in the prison population of 88,521 inmates on September 6, recorded just before the Government began freeing thousands of prisoners early as part of efforts to curb jail overcrowding. Amy Rees, the MoJ's interim permanent secretary, said the Government would 'run out of prison places in just five months' time', if further measures were not taken. 'On our current trajectory, the prison population rises by 3,000, and now we expect to hit zero capacity, to entirely run out of prison places for adult men, in November of this year,' the top civil servant added. Early release measures have 'only bought the service time', Ms Rees said, including the Government's decision to reduce early release to 40% of sentences. Justice Secretary Ms Mahmood said the latest prison-building initiative would be funded by a capital investment of £4.7 billion. Three new prisons will be build as a result of the cash, Ms Mahmood said, including 'breaking ground' on a site near HMP Gartree in Leicestershire 'later this year'. She added: 'This is a record prison expansion, and after the long delays under the last government, who allowed their backbenchers to block every project, we are building at breakneck pace.' The Justice Secretary also warned the recall population in prisons had 'more than doubled' in seven years, as she set out the latest measure to ease prison capacity. Some will be excluded from the scheme, 'including any offender who has been recalled for committing a serious further offence', according to Ms Mahmood. 'We also will exclude those who are subject to higher levels of risk management by multiple agencies where the police, prisons and probation services work together,' the Justice Secretary said. The fixed-term recall measures announced are expected to free up around 1,400 prison places, Ms Mahmood indicated.
Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Labour promises three new prisons in push to ‘save justice system'
The government has announced that it will build three new prisons from this year as part of a 'record prison expansion'. Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, confirmed that £4.7 billion would be made available in the spending review to build them. No locations have been given. Offenders who have been recalled for committing a serious further offence and those subject to higher levels of risk management by multiple agencies will be exempt. Men's prisons in England and Wales are operating at 99 per cent capacity every year and are due to run out of space in five months' time, the government said. This would threaten 'the breakdown of law and order', Mahmood said. The government also hopes to free about 1,400 prison places by bringing
The Guardian
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Cost of crime crackdown criticised as Victoria prepares for influx of prisoners with huge jail spend
The cost of Victoria's crime crackdown is beginning to emerge, as the financially strained state government faces criticism over a $727m plan to expand prison capacity as the number of people on remand rises. The premier, Jacinta Allan, visited the state's new Western Plains Correctional Centre on Tuesday to announce next week's state budget would include funding to open nearly 1,000 new adult prison beds and 88 youth justice beds, along with hundreds of new corrections staff. Allan told reporters the increased capacity was needed following changes to the state's bail laws, which came into effect in March. 'Our tough new bail laws, they are working. We are seeing an increase on the number of alleged offenders on remand,' she said. 'We're backing that with more beds and more corrections staff.' Government data for April shows a 22% rise in adults on remand and a 71% increase in young people compared with the same time last year. Nerita Waight, chief executive of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (Vals), said it was 'flawed, deeply troubling and misguided' to 'celebrate' growing remand numbers. 'This does not equate to community safety and only causes further distress, trauma and cycles of harm,' she said. Waight said Vals' dedicated youth legal practice, Balit Ngulu, has seen a 300% increase in young people held on remand since June last year. For Vals' adult clients, there has been a 216% increase. 'In an already tight fiscal environment, today's announcement shows that premier Allan's invested in expanding prisons and not programmatic solutions that would create a safer Victoria for all of us, not just some of us,' she said. Jesuit Social Services' chief executive Julie Edwards said the money was being spent at the 'wrong end of the system' and 'won't do anything' to prevent crime. 'We're really concerned by the news that the Victorian government is committing well over half a billion dollars of new funding to a costly, ineffective prison system which is at odds with all of the evidence about how to create stronger, more cohesive communities with less crime and fewer victims,' Edwards said. Maggie Munn, first nations director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the announcement was 'shameful' and urged more investment in housing, health and legal services instead. Sarah Toohey from the Community Housing Industry Association Victoria said $727m would build more than 1,400 community housing properties for those in need, including people released from prison into homelessness, of which 40% are likely to reoffend. 'Investing in long term housing … is both crime prevention and a cost saving to government in prison spending,' Toohey said. Asked if more funding for crime prevention would be in the budget, Allan said: 'We will have much more to say between now and next Tuesday.' The $727m figure also matches the amount announced on Monday to 'switch on' the Metro Tunnel project and introduce high-frequency services on the Sunbury, Cranbourne and Pakenham lines. Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, said the government had got their priorities 'all wrong' in the upcoming budget. The $1bn Western Plains Correctional Centre, which has sat empty since it was completed in 2023, will open in July. It will replace the ageing Port Phillip prison, which is scheduled to close by the end of the year, and once fully operational will house up to 1,300 inmates. Opposition police spokesperson David Southwick said the 1,000 new beds announced by the government only offset those being closed at Port Phillip. Other beds have also been closed at other prisons due to mould infestations, he added. 'They're throwing taxpayer money at the mess without a real plan to fix it,' he said. The government also introduced new legislation on Tuesday to mandate additional jail time for prisoners who assault corrections staff.
