Labour to end Tory prison chaos as fears grow that 1,500 criminals could dodge jail this year due to the lack of prison cells
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Labour has today pledged to end the Tory prison chaos and deliver
the prison cells we need to keep dangerous criminals off
the streets. Under the Conservatives our prisons
are nearing capacity, with the latest figures
showing that there are only 971 prison spaces left. According to
the Government’s own projections, the growth of the prison
population is set to outpace the supply of prison places. By
this November, the Ministry of...Request free trial
Labour has today pledged to end the Tory prison chaos and deliver the prison cells we need to keep dangerous criminals off the streets. Under the Conservatives our prisons are nearing capacity, with the latest figures showing that there are only 971 prison spaces left. According to the Government’s own projections, the growth of the prison population is set to outpace the supply of prison places. By this November, the Ministry of Justice projects the number of prisoners will hit 89,100, but there will only be 87,573 operational prison places – leaving a shortage of 1,527 places. The Conservatives have dithered and delayed, failing to deliver the prison spaces we need. In fact, only £1.3 billion of the £4 billion they have allocated to build new prisons places has been spent – leaving the government with serious questions to answer about its ability to keep our communities safe. In government Labour will get on and build the prison places we need to ensure that dangerous criminals are where they belong - behind bars. As a result of the Tory dither and delay, the Justice Secretary wrote to judges asking for them to take prison overcrowding into account when passing sentence or deciding whether to remand people in custody. There have already been high profile cases where dangerous criminals have avoided prison due to prison overcrowding despite committing horrific crimes. Earlier this year, Fabian Greco received a suspended sentence due to “pressure on the prison estate” despite punching and repeatedly kicking a man in a road rage incident. A human trafficker also avoided a prison sentence after throwing boiling water over an emergency worker due to prison overcrowding “concerns”. To make matters worse, those offenders that end up in prison are becoming more hardened criminals. The latest figures show that under the Conservatives prisons aren’t stopping crime, they are breeding it. Prisoners are running riot, with violence and drugs rates spiralling out of control. New statistics show that the number of drugs and drug manufacturing equipment found in prisons have skyrocketed by 325 per cent and 625 per cent respectively since 2010. Prisoners high on drugs have also driven up violence. Since 2010, there has been a 153 per cent increase in assaults in prison staff. As a result, offenders leave prison more dangerous than when they arrived, driving up reoffending rates. Over 13 years of Tory chaos, the Conservatives have had 10 different Justice Secretaries and are focused on fighting themselves rather than fighting crime. Steve Reed MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, said: “Our prisons are turning criminals away because the Conservatives failed to build the cells they promised. “The situation has become so chaotic that the Conservative Government has instructed judges not to lock up dangerous criminals, leaving them to roam the streets and seek out new victims. “To make matters worse, criminals who do end up in jail have been allowed to run riot with violence and drug abuse spiralling out of control, driving up reoffending rates. “Labour is the party of law and order. In government will get on and deliver the prison places we need to ensure that dangerous criminals are where they belong - behind bars. That’s how we will prevent crime, punish criminals and protect communities.” Ends Notes:
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