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United Kingdom prison population

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The United Kingdom has three distinct legal systems with a separate prison system in each: one for both England and Wales, one for Scotland, and one for Northern Ireland. As of June 2023, the United Kingdom has the highest per-capita incarceration rate in Western Europe, at 159 people per 100,000 in England and Wales; 162 people per 100,000 in Scotland; 97 people per 100,000 in Northern Ireland; and the largest prison population in Western Europe.[1][2][3] The average cost per prison place (including all resource expenditure) was £46,696 in England and Wales (2021/22), £46,892 in Scotland (2021/22), and £47,927 in Northern Ireland (2022/23).[1]

As of June 2023, the total UK prison population was 95,526: composed of 85,851 prisoners from England and Wales, 7,775 from Scotland and 1,900 from Northern Ireland.[1] At the end of the first quarter of 2024, there were 87,869 prisoners in England and Wales.[4]

Demographics

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People from ethnic minority backgrounds

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See also: Race and crime in the United Kingdom

According to House of Commons research, people of minority ethnicities (BAME) constitute 13% of the general population, but make up 27% of the prison population.[1] In 2017, a review led by David Lammy MP concluded that the justice system was biased against this group, and required reform.[5] In 2019, Lammy expressed deep concern at the high proportion of BAME males in young offender institutions with 51% of boys in young offender institutions identifying as BAME, saying that "England and Wales are now hitting an American scale of disproportionality in our youth justice system".[6] The over-representation of the black population in prisons may be a result of stop and search, custodial remands and the make-up of the prison population itself with 32% of all children in prison being black.[7]

Prison Population by Ethnic Group as of 31 March 2024[8]
Position Ethnic group Prison
population 		Per cent of
incarcerated population 		Per cent of
population (2021 Census)‡[9]
1 White 63,103 71.8% 81.7%
2 Black or Black British 10,624 12.1% 4.0%
3 Asian or Asian British 7,067 8.0% 9.3%
4 Mixed 4,188 4.8% 2.9%
5 Other ethnic group 1,794 2.0% 2.1%
Unrecorded / Non stated 1,093 1.2% —
Total (2024) 87,869 100% 100%

Notes:
‡ 2021 Census, England and Wales only

Religious group

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In the two decades since 2002, the proportion of Christian prisoners has fallen, by 14%, to 44% of the incarcerated population meanwhile the proportion of Muslim prisoners has risen, by 10%, to 18%. Other religious groups did not see a significant change in proportion.[1] Beginning in 2008, concerns over the spread of Sharia in British prisons, including the operation of Sharia courts and the forced conversions of non-muslims, have been reported.[10][11][12][13] According to the UK prison officers' union in 2013, some Muslim prisoners in the UK had allegedly forcibly converted fellow inmates to Islam in prisons.[14] There have been multiple cases of non-muslim prisoners threatened with violence[15] with "convert or get hurt" being a commonly used phrase by Muslim gangs according to an independent report published by the government.[16] In category A and B prisons, former inmates have publicly spoken out on the rise of Islamism with the "balance of power" in reputational violence now shifted towards Muslim gangs.[17] Other reasons why inmates may convert include wanting protection in wings where Muslim gangs are prevalent, the ability to go to chapel, and access to different foods. Around 1 in 5 Muslim prisoners in the UK are now white.[18]

The Fishmonger's Hall, Streatham, and Reading attacks brought increased attention on the risk of Islamist gangs and convicted terrorists radicalising other inmates in prisons.[19][20] Concerns were first raised in 2010 by the Royal United Services Institute over the growing radicalisation of Muslims in prisons.[21] According to Jonathan Hall KC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, convicted terrorists "enjoy high status" in prisons and other inmates are attracted to their extremist interpretation of Islam.[22][23] The 2023 CONTEST report found that Islamic terrorists represented 64% of those in custody for terrorism-connected offences with 44% of declared terrorist attacks in the UK since 2018 perpetrated by serving or recently released Muslim prisoners.[24] Attempts to engage imprisoned terrorists with de-radicalisation programmes have been largely unsuccessful.[25]

Prison Population by Religious Group as of 31 March 2024[26]
Position Religious group Prison
population 		Per cent of
incarcerated population 		Per cent of
population (2021 Census)‡[27]
1 Christianity 39,068 44.5% 46.2%
2 No religion 27,122 30.9% 37.2%
3 Islam 15,909 18.1% 6.5%
4 Other religious group 2,335 2.7% 0.6%
5 Buddhism 1,656 1.9% 0.5%
6 Sikhism 578 0.7% 0.9%
7 Judaism 511 0.6% 0.5%
8 Hinduism 348 0.4% 1.7%
Not recorded 335 0.4% 6.0%
Non recognised 7 0.0% —
Total (2024) 87,869 100% 100%

Notes:
‡ 2021 Census, England and Wales only

Immigrants and foreign nationals

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76,869 British nationals were recorded in the prison population at the end of the first quarter of 2024. The remainder of the population was made up of 10,422 foreign nationals, making up 11.9% of the total population, with an additional 578 having no nationality recorded.[28]

Foreign Nationals in the Prison Population as of 31 March 2024
Position Nationality status Prison population Per cent of Total
1 Albania Albania 1,273 12.2%
2 Poland Poland 906 8.7%
3 Romania Romania 750 7.2%
4 Republic of Ireland Ireland 649 6.2%
5 Jamaica Jamaica 381 3.7%
6 Lithuania Lithuania 361 3.5%
7 Pakistan Pakistan 313 3.0%
8 Portugal Portugal 290 2.8%
9 India India 271 2.6%
10 Iraq Iraq 259 2.5%
11 Somalia Somalia 250 2.4%
12 Iran Iran 248 2.4%
13 Nigeria Nigeria 233 2.2%
14 Afghanistan Afghanistan 172 1.7%
15 Vietnam Vietnam 167 1.6%
All other nationalities 3,899 37.4%
Total (2024) 10,422 100%

Notes: Data for England and Wales only

Age group

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Age Groups in the Prison Population as of 31 March 2024[29]
Position Age group Prison population Per cent of Total
1 30–39 29,339 33.4%
2 40–49 18,175 20.7%
3 25–29 13,226 15.1%
4 50–59 9,391 10.7%
5 21–24 8,155 9.3%
6 60–69 4,250 4.8%
7 18–20 3,090 3.5%
8 70 and over 1,979 2.3%
9 15–17 264 0.3%
Total (2024) 87,869 100%

Notes: Data for England and Wales only

Children and young people aged under 18 are not sent to adult prisons if they are sentenced to custody.[30] They either go to young offender institutions (for prisoners aged 15–21), secure training centres (for those aged under 17) or secure children's homes (for those aged under 15).[30]

The number of children in custody has declined since mid-2008, from more than 3,000 to about 900 at any one time.[31] In 2019 an independent inquiry into child sexual abuse published a report that described the scale of alleged abuse in young offender institutions and secure training centres as “shockingly high”.[31]

The number of British prisoners over 60 years of age rose by 130% between 2002 and 2013, a shift attributed to an increase in the convictions for historic sex abuse. The increase was reported after the 2012 commencement of Operation Yewtree, a police investigation into sexual abuse allegations—predominantly the abuse of children—against the British media personality Jimmy Savile and others.[32] In relation to over 4,000 over-60 prisoners in UK prisons, Professor David Wilson of Birmingham City University stated in July 2014:

Four out of 10 of these prisoners (the over-60s) were convicted of sex offences and people over 60 are the fastest growing age group in the prison estate, yet there is no national strategy for the elderly who get sent to prison ... The Prison Service needs to develop a strategy to cope with this fastest growing section of the prison population or they will simply be failing in their duty of care to the elderly people that they are locking up.[32]

In 2018 there were more than 1,500 prisoners over 70, including more than 200 aged over 80, creating increasing demands on health and social care systems.[33]

Gender

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3,635 women were recorded in the prison population (4.1%) at the end of the first quarter of 2024.[4] As of 2018, most were serving time for non-violent offences.[34] There is evidence that women may be a particularly vulnerable prison population: they account for 20% of self-injury behind bars, and are twice as likely to report mental health issues as male prisoners.[35] In 2018 the government launched a new Female Offender Strategy to try and address the needs of this particular population.[34]

Women with a child aged under 18 months old may apply to bring their child into prison with them, if they are serving a short sentence.[36] Women who give birth in prison may keep their baby for the first 18 months in a mother and baby unit.[36]

Prison population

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Veterans

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A growing number of British prisoners are former armed forces members. According to a study reported in the Guardian in 2009, 8500 former servicemen were imprisoned, making up almost 10% of the prison population.[37]

Scotland

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Scotland recognized the growth in the prison population and acted accordingly to make adjustments to how the law was carried out so that the system operates efficiently. One of the actions made was to decrease the number of stop-and-searches and between the period of June 2015 and August 2016, there was reportedly an 81% decrease in those actions when statistics from 2014 were compared.[38]

Drug abusers

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The proportion of prisoners developing a drug abuse problem while incarcerated rose from 8.4% in 2013-2014 to nearly 15% in 2018–2019. Much of the prison system is badly equipped to disrupt illegal drug supply and security standards vary between prisons. Reform maintains prisons are overcrowded, staff retention is poor and using community sentences instead of prison for minor offenses would help. Aidan Shilson-Thomas of Reform said, “There must always be a place in prison for those who commit serious crimes. However, prison must also be an opportunity for inmates to change their behaviour. Stabilising the system means stemming the flow of drugs, reducing overcrowding, fixing the crumbling estate and improving officer retention. Its long-term sustainability requires a serious conversation about how many people we lock up and for how long. Failing to act will mean poorer social outcomes, more reoffending and ultimately huge costs to the taxpayer.”[39]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Sturge, Georgina. "UK Prison Population Statistics" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  2. ^ Highest to Lowest. World Prison Brief (WPB). Use the dropdown menu to choose lists of countries by region or the whole world. Use the menu to select highest-to-lowest lists of prison population totals, prison population rates, percentage of pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners, percentage of female prisoners, percentage of foreign prisoners, and occupancy rate. Column headings in WPB tables can be clicked to reorder columns lowest to highest, or alphabetically. For detailed information for each country click on any country name in lists. See also the WPB main data page and click on the map links and/or the sidebar links to get to the region and country desired.
  3. ^ "Britain has the highest prison population in the EU". The Times. 3 April 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Prison population: 31 March 2024". gov.uk. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Bias against ethnic minorities 'needs to be tackled' in justice system". BBC News. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  6. ^ Grierson, Jamie (29 January 2019). "More than half of young people in jail are of BME background". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Ethnicity and the Criminal Justice System, 2020". gov.uk. Ministry of Justice.
  8. ^ "Table 1.Q.7: Time series: prison population by sex, custody type group, and ethnicity, England and Wales". gov.uk. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Population of England and Wales". gov.uk. Office for National Statistics. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  10. ^ Doward, Jamie (25 May 2008). "Muslim gangs 'are taking control of prison'". The Guardian.
  11. ^ "Muslim gangs imposing sharia law in British prisons". The Telegraph. 15 March 2010.
  12. ^ "'Sharia courts' in British prisons". BBC News. 2 June 2016.
  13. ^ "End of Sharia courts in jail: Crackdown on terrorists radicalising prisoners behind bars". LBC. 27 April 2022.
  14. ^ Withnall, A. (20 October 2013). "Britain's jails facing 'growing problem' of forced conversion to Islam, officers warn". The Independent. UK.
  15. ^ Ford, Richard (7 June 2019). "Muslim gangs 'beat prisoners' who will not convert to Islam". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  16. ^ Bloom, Colin. "Does government 'do God?' An independent review into how government engages with faith" (PDF). gov.uk. Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Muslims have won power battle between prison gangs, says hero of London Bridge attack". The Telegraph. 2 April 2024.
  18. ^ "One in five Muslim prisoners is white as 'gangs drive conversions'". The Telegraph. 19 March 2024.
  19. ^ Dearden, Lizzie (25 September 2018). "How British prisons became a breeding ground for Islamist extremism". The Independent.
  20. ^ "Prison terrorism: Warnings over failure to stop radicalisation". BBC News. 27 April 2022.
  21. ^ "UK faces new wave of homegrown attacks - report". Reuters. 26 August 2010.
  22. ^ "Terrorism offenders 'enjoy high status' in prison, QC's official report says". The Guardian. 27 April 2022.
  23. ^ Hall, Jonathan. "Terrorism in Prisons" (PDF). gov.uk.
  24. ^ "CONTEST: The United Kingdom's Strategy for Countering Terrorism 2023" (PDF). gov.uk. Home Office. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  25. ^ Hymas, Charles (9 August 2022). "Islamic terrorists 'refuse to be deradicalised in prison'". The Telegraph.
  26. ^ "Table 1.Q.8: Time series: prison population by sex, custody type group, and religion, England and Wales". gov.uk. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  27. ^ "Religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  28. ^ "Table 1.Q.12: Prison population by nationality and sex, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales". gov.uk. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  29. ^ "Table 1.Q.6: Time series: prison population by sex, custody type group, and age band, England and Wales". gov.uk. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  30. ^ a b "Young people in custody". Gov.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  31. ^ a b Robert Booth, Eric Allison (28 February 2019). "More than 1,000 claims of child sexual abuse in custody, inquiry reveals". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  32. ^ a b Jamie Doward and Gaby Bissett (6 July 2014). "Rolf Harris leaves behind gilded lifestyle for vulnerable prison unit". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  33. ^ "Could elderly prisoners move into secure care homes?". Inside Time. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  34. ^ a b Ministry of Justice (27 June 2018). "Secretary of State launches dedicated strategy to 'break the cycle' of female offending". Gov.UK.
  35. ^ Jessica Labhart, Lisa Wright (29 September 2018). "Why doesn't prison work for women?". BBC News.
  36. ^ a b "Prison Life". Gov UK. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  37. ^ Travis, Alan (25 September 2009). "Revealed: the hidden army in UK prisons". The Guardian. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  38. ^ Who’s in Prison? A Snapshot of Scotland’s Prison Population. The Scottish Centre for Crime & Justice Research, 2015, Who’s in Prison? A Snapshot of Scotland’s Prison Population, www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/SCCJR-Whos-in-prison.pdf.
  39. ^ "Proportion of UK prisoners with drug problem doubles in five years – study". The Guardian. 20 January 2020.
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