PRT comment: Safety in custody statistics

Commenting on the Ministry of Justice’s safety in custody statistics published today, Peter Dawson, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

“The message from these deeply alarming numbers could not be any clearer. An overcrowded prison system cannot cope with the number of people it is expected to hold. People are being maimed and dying in unprecedented numbers as a direct consequence. Two years of positive rhetoric from the government about prison reform has done nothing to stop a relentless decline in safety. There is no end in sight, and a new government must make a reduction in imprisonment a top priority.”

The Ministry of Justice’s safety in custody statistics (quarterly update to December 2016) are available here.