Latest news with #prisonpopulation
The Sun
09-08-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
We aren't holding our breath with Labour's new plan to deport foreign offenders immediately
To boot out lags, first fix law flaws FOREIGN criminals account for 12 per cent of our ballooning prison population, the highest number in more than a decade. That means almost 11,000 of those behind bars in England and Wales are foreign nationals. At £54,000 a year per lag, that amounts to an eyewatering bill of around £580million for taxpayers. That is unsustainable. And the impact on already overcrowded jails is obvious. Labour's new plan to deport foreign offenders immediately is, on the surface, an overdue means of ending this madness. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood says: 'My message is clear: break Britain's laws and you'll be sent packing in record time.' Strong words, no doubt influenced by Reform leader Nigel Farage's pledge to do just that a few weeks ago. But how long before we find actions bogged down in human rights appeals? For this to work, Home Office legislation must be watertight to prevent appeals to the European Court so beloved by Attorney General Lord Hermer. There must be no endless appeal process, no belated asylum claims clogging up the system and no blocking under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act. If PM Sir Keir Starmer can assure us of that, his plan may stand a chance. But on the evidence of countless Government failings to deport illegal migrants, we aren't holding our breath. 2 Hit Vlad in pocket DONALD Trump has created an opportunity to halt the bloody Ukraine war by engineering face-to-face talks with Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week. Trump and Putin to meet face-to-face in Alaska next Friday to discuss Ukraine peace deal Putin was driven to the negotiating table after President Trump announced sanctions on India's oil imports from Russia — blocking £40billion a year going into Putin's coffers and hitting his war machine where it really hurts. Europe will rightly be wary of any proposals that emerge from Friday's summit. But before leaders climb on their high horse, they should examine their own shameful EU spending on Russian oil and gas, worth a staggering £20billion a year. Rachel in wonderland She spent time on her Haven holiday watching the Mad Hatter's tea party. It must have felt like she was back in a Labour Cabinet meeting.
Sky News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Foreign prisoners to be deported earlier under new plans
Foreign criminals in prisons across England and Wales will be deported at an earlier point in their sentence under new government plans. The proposed legislation, to be presented in Parliament today, comes as part of efforts to tackle prison overcrowding. Currently, foreign inmates with no right to stay in the UK are sent back to their home country after serving half of their sentence. But under the plans, they will instead be removed after just 30% of their term. The measure would apply to those given determinate sentences - fixed maximum terms in prison that offenders do not necessarily serve all of behind bars. It would not apply to those convicted of terrorism or terror-related offences. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) estimates that, combined with other upcoming reforms, some foreign prisoners would end up serving only 10% of their sentence in England and Wales, down from about 20 to 25% currently. The law is also being tweaked so they can be deported 48 months before the end of their custodial sentence, rather than 18 months before. The changes will free up an estimated 500 cells per year, with around 12% of the prison population currently made up of foreign offenders, according to the government. 2:28 The MoJ said the proposals should also save the taxpayer millions of pounds, with the average prison place costing £54,000 per year. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "With prisons close to bursting, I'm clear we shouldn't be giving bed and board to foreign criminals with no right to be here. "These changes will get more of them on planes out of the country much sooner, saving taxpayers' money and keeping our streets safe as part of our Plan for Change. "This government's message is crystal clear - if you come here and break our laws, you'll be sent packing in record time." 3:16 The proposals follow calls from the Conservatives for a change in the law to give the government the power to deport all foreign criminals. The MoJ said the measure would be a discretionary power, meaning that some prisoners may be refused permission to be deported in certain circumstances, such as if there was clear evidence they were planning further crime. The government hopes the shake-up will come into effect in September, if it is approved in Parliament. Ministers have repeatedly warned that the prison system is overcrowded, overstretched and understaffed. Last month, Ms Mahmood announced the government would be adopting a range of measures to ease prison overcrowding, following an independent review by former Tory justice secretary David Gauke.
Medscape
19-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
This French Nursing Home Accepts Inmates Others Won't
Like the general population, France's prison population is aging. In 2019, nearly 2600 inmates were over the age of 60, and close to 500 were over 70. According to the French Prison Administration Directorate (DAP), 115 of these individuals were classified as dependent, and 430 were living with physical disabilities. Despite these needs, very few healthcare facilities in France are equipped to accommodate older, dependent former inmates. Currently, only two nursing homes accept individuals with a history of incarceration. One of them is the Saint Barthélemy nursing home in Marseille, affiliated with the Saint John of God Foundation. Its director, Olivier Quenette, spoke with Journal International de Medecine (JIM) , a Medscape Network platform, about the challenges and responsibilities involved in caring for this particularly vulnerable group. How did your nursing home come to care for individuals coming out of the prison system? Is there a link to the philosophy of the Foundation that supports your facility? It happened by chance. We were approached by a family member of a 61-year-old man who had just been released from prison and had no housing solution. We agreed to take him in. The Foundation's philosophy is to support the most vulnerable — those who are invisible or without options. We're committed to unconditional acceptance, so we responded positively to what was, in this case, an urgent request. Did the idea of accepting incarcerated individuals develop gradually from there? Absolutely. In 2005, we visited the Saint John of God facility in Austria, which had created a correctional unit within a hospital. That inspired us to consider the needs of aging people in prison. We started to study the issue and built relationships with the prison system to understand how it works — its language, procedures, and requirements — to be able to integrate these individuals appropriately. How many incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals do you currently care for? What is their legal status? As of our latest count in June 2024, we had admitted 29 people, including two women, with ages ranging from 54.5 to 89.7 years — an average age of 69.9. Fourteen were on modified sentences with judicial oversight, three were on parole with electronic monitoring, and seven had medical sentence suspensions. Only one was released without support. How do you ensure anonymity for residents with a history of incarceration? We've chosen to uphold a right to be forgotten. What matters to us is that the individual has either served their sentence or is in the process of doing so. We do not share the reasons for a resident's incarceration with the care team. This is an ethical decision. It's up to the resident to disclose their background, if and when they choose. Naturally, in today's digital age, media reports about certain cases are easy to find. We've encountered such situations. But after more than 15 years of admitting former inmates, this is no longer a sensitive issue within our facility. We treat each person as an individual — not as someone defined by a past offense. Others may choose to look into a resident's background, but for us, it holds no greater weight than any other part of their personal history. We treat it as confidential, much like medical information. Are there specific medical characteristics that distinguish incarcerated or formerly incarcerated residents from others in your facility? Our nursing home has a somewhat specialized profile; we primarily care for individuals who have experienced homelessness or who live with mental health conditions. Of our 245 beds, the majority are occupied by residents with nontraditional or complex life histories. The current average age is 74, and approximately 60% of residents are men. Most are enrolled in public social assistance programs. One of the key challenges with formerly incarcerated residents is helping them unlearn institutional behaviors developed in prison and relearn how to live independently. We recognized early on that this group requires more frequent and intensive psychological support, as they tend to experience higher levels of anxiety. This is particularly true for younger residents, especially those under the age of 65, who also benefit from more structured daily activities. To support their reintegration, we offer paid, meaningful activities that carry therapeutic, occupational, and social value within the facility's community. We also maintain close collaboration with correctional social workers (known in France as CPIPs, Conseillers Pénitentiaires d'Insertion et de Probation), who visit monthly to meet with both the former inmates and staff. We've successfully supported the reintegration of several former residents; four have transitioned to independent living. These transitions always take place following a period of judicial supervision, but each resident leads the process, and we provide support every step of the way. What psychological and psychiatric support do you provide? Some residents have psychiatric conditions. We rely on private psychiatrists who also care for our other residents, and we ensure follow-up. Our in-house psychologists work closely with these individuals, especially during the admission period and the first few months. Some residents are also under mandatory psychiatric follow-up ordered during incarceration. How do you coordinate medical care and judicial monitoring — for example, for residents with electronic ankle monitors? Their medical care is the same as for any other resident. With their consent, they are assigned a private physician who manages their care, appointments, and testing. We handle transport logistics if needed. One resident took 2 years before leaving the facility, so we support them in rebuilding autonomy. Those with ankle monitors are allowed to leave their rooms during specific times, managed in coordination with their probation officer. Nursing homes often report difficulties in hiring healthcare staff. Does your facility face these challenges? The healthcare labor market in our sector is undeniably tight. We face recruitment challenges in certain roles, particularly when it comes to coordinating physicians — a difficulty reported by more than 30% of nursing homes in France. However, for nursing and nursing assistant positions, we are currently able to meet about 95% of our staffing needs. While we are not experiencing acute shortages, there is ongoing pressure, and we must continuously recruit to anticipate potential vacancies and ensure continuity of care. Have your staff received specific training to care for current or former inmates? Have any raised concerns? No specific training has been provided for caring for formerly incarcerated individuals. As I mentioned, we focus first on the resident's primary condition — whether that be mental illness, physical illness, or a state of dependency. In our experience, residents with severe psychiatric histories — particularly those recently discharged from psychiatric hospitals — often present greater care challenges than former inmates. That said, we do offer targeted training on geriatric mental health, though not programs specifically focused on the needs of former prisoners. Regarding staff concerns, we addressed them through discussions with our internal multidisciplinary ethics committee. We made a deliberate choice not to create dedicated units for former inmates. Instead, they are integrated across all units. This approach has worked well. Even during our initial admissions, there were some questions, but no significant issues arose. In principle, any prisoner can be granted release for medical reasons or if they are over the age of 70. Is this law effectively applied? Not at all. As I recall, this provision was introduced in 2014 by then-Justice Minister Christiane Taubira. But in reality, many incarcerated individuals over 70 are unable to access release because no care facility is available to receive them. So, despite being on the books, the law remains difficult to apply in practice. Medical parole is granted by a sentencing judge, based on clinical evaluations. However, it only becomes a viable option if a long-term care facility is willing and able to admit the individual. According to the DAP, roughly 80-90 older inmates in France each year would meet the criteria for such release. That is a relatively small number considering the total nursing home capacity nationwide. But the fear of recidivism, especially involving individuals convicted of sexual offenses, remains the primary barrier to placement. France currently has only two nursing homes that accept former inmates — yours and one in Cuiseaux. Should more facilities follow this model? What are the barriers? In addition to the facility in Cuiseaux, a nursing home in the Ardennes began accepting former inmates 2 years ago, and the French Red Cross has also shown interest in participating. Progress is being made, but it remains slow and limited. The biggest barrier is stigma: the fear that someone who has committed a crime may reoffend. Facilities are concerned about how families will react, whether there are safety risks for other residents, and what staff will think. These fears continue to prevent many nursing homes from accepting former inmates. Yet these individuals are often seriously ill and no longer capable of living independently in a prison setting. In some cases, their living conditions behind bars may even be incompatible with basic human dignity. In collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the DAP, we've presented our model to national networks of nursing home directors to encourage broader participation. I've also met with two large foundations that have committed to supporting these efforts. The idea is starting to gain traction, but significant challenges remain. For older, dependent inmates who remain in prison, what improvements are needed in their medical care? At a minimum, prisons need architectural modifications to better accommodate individuals with physical dependency. In addition, access to in-home nursing services must be significantly improved within prisons and detention facilities. While a few pilot programs exist, the response time for initiating care is approximately four times longer than in the general population. The main barrier is financial. In my view, the most practical solution would be for every nursing home in France to commit to accepting at least one inmate per year. If just 90 facilities nationwide did so, we could resolve this public health challenge. At our facility, for example, we currently house former inmates from Bapaume Prison near Lille. Before being accepted here, they were denied admission by 40-50 nursing homes in their local region.
RNZ News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Prison population projected to boom over next decade
The figures are based on more offenders receiving longer prison sentences. Photo: Finn Blackwell New Zealand's prison population is expected to increase by 36 percent over the next decade. The Ministry of Justice projects there will be 14,230 prisoners in June 2035, up from 10,488 in February 2025. The projections take into account government policies like the reinstatement of 'Three Strikes', and reforms to cap sentencing discounts and introduce more aggravating factors. Last year's report, which projected a prison population of 11,317 by June 2034, did not take into account those policies, as they had not yet been passed into law. "The new policy settings are expected to see more offenders receive prison sentences and for those sentences to be longer," said ministry sector insights general manager Rebecca Parish. The projected increase takes into account both the remand and sentenced populations. The number of those on remand is projected to increase steadily over the time period. The sentenced population is expected to increase rapidly until June 2028 and then gradually by June 2035. Those on remand have spent longer on remand, due to their cases taking longer to go through the courts, but Parish said initiatives were underway to reduce the time taken to resolve cases and the time spent in custodial remand. The ministry said it released these reports to evaluate long-term trends, and help inform investment, planning and policy decisions. The report was done in collaboration with Corrections, Police, Crown Law and the Serious Fraud Office. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Sun
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Prisons will run out of space in just 5 MONTHS as government unveils raft of new measures to tackle overcrowding crisis
JAIL FEARS MEN'S prisons are set to run out of space in just five months time with the justice system in chaos - sparking a new jail building plan. A massive £4.7 billion plan to build three new prisons has been given the green light to deal with the shortage of space. 3 3 3 Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said it was 'shameful' that in this country finds itself in the 'cycle of crisis'. She added that there has been a 'total breakdown in law and order'. She said that her Tory predecessors 'failed to act'. Mahmood announced that those serving sentences between one and four years will only be recalled for a 28-day period. The measure comes after those being recalled has jumped significantly in recent years. The recall population was just 100 in 1993, before rising to 6,000 in 2018 and soared to 13,600 in March this year. Amy Rees, interim permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, said: 'The total prison population is 88,087 and the adult male estate is operating at approximately 99% of its capacity every year. '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 UK will run out of prison spaces entirely by November of this year, Amy Rees, interim permanent secretary to the Ministry of Justice said today. The population of prisoners has been rising by about 3,000 each year - the equivalent of two new prisons full. The Government has today a raft of new measures to tackle prison overcrowding with jails on the brink of collapse AGAIN despite thousands getting early release. Shabana Mahmood has set out a stop-gap solution afternoon as the country's jails are once again at 99 per cent capacity. It comes ahead of the Sentencing Review new week which is set to recommend that prisoners who behave well will only have to serve a third of their sentences under a radical shake up. The Justice Secretary is due to accept plans drawn up in David Gauke's sentencing review which is set to be published next week. Instead of automatic release, each convict will be given a minimum and maximum sentence, depending on how serious the offence is. Which length of time they serve will depend on whether they engage with rehabilitation in prison, training programmes, and education. It mirrors the Texas system which Ms Mahmood traveled to see earlier this year. And it comes after a prison guard had their throat slashed by an inmate in the latest incident of growing violence behind bars. The staff member was attacked at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, according to the union representing prison officers. A prisoner used an improvised weapon to attack the staff member who needed stitches to their neck and ear as a result. Another violent incident at the same jail involved an inmate who is locked up for terrorism charges. And a near fatal attack at HMP Frankland by Manchester arena terrorist Hashem Abedi saw the lag throw hot cooking oil and stab three prison officers. An investigation is also underway into how Southport killer Axel Rudakubana was able to hurl scolding water over a prison officer inside HMP Belmarsh. The latest weekly prison population in England and Wales stands at 88,087, 434 below the last peak in the prison population of 88,521 inmates in September. Just days after last year's peak in numbers, the Government began freeing thousands of prisoners early as part of efforts to curb jail overcrowding. Ministers ordered early releases by temporarily reducing the proportion of sentences which some prisoners must serve behind bars from 50 per cent to 40 per cent. As a result prisoners were seen dancing in the streets outside jails and popping champagne, in scenes which were widely criticised.
