Bristol’s prison is among the most crowded in the country. The men’s prison in Horfield has 408 cells, but figures from the Ministry of Justice said there were 575 inmates at the prison in July this year.
This meant 167 inmates had to share a cell, taking the prison’s level of crowding to 141 per cent. These figures put HMP Bristol among the most crowded across England and Wales.
The news comes after a report found HMP Bristol to be “one of the most unsafe prisons in the country” last year. At the time, the Government laid out plans to improve safety at the prison after a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) found ‘serious failings’.
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Ministry of Justice figures show that in July there was a prison population of 87,479 offenders in jail across England and Wales. With fewer than 80,000 cells available, many of those prisoners are required to share accommodation.
The figures show that HMP Durham is the most crowded prison in the country. In July it had a prison population of 984, and 573 usable cells to accommodate them.
That means – relative to the “certified normal standard” of one prisoner per cell – the prison was 172% full. Durham has an operational capacity of 985, higher than the number of cells available, which means it has the potential to be “crowded”, so some prisoners can share cells.
The jail’s operational capacity was only one higher than the number of prisoners housed in July, although some of them may have been on authorised absence, for example, if a prisoner was ill and needed hospital treatment. You can see how crowded the prisons are near where you live using our interactive map:
The most crowded prisons in England and Wales
- Durham 172%
- Leeds 171%
- Lincoln 162%
- Bedford 160%
- Wandsworth 157%
- Preston 157%
- Doncaster 154%
- Altcourse 152%
- Exeter 147%
- Swansea 143%
- Brixton 143%
Under Labour’s early release scheme, around 5,500 prisoners are expected to be freed in September and October alone. Burglars, shoplifters and fraudsters who are serving short sentences are among those expected to be released early.
The scheme will apply to prisoners in most prisons bar high security (Cat A) ones, with varying amounts released from each. The plan – which will be reviewed in 18 months – means prisoners who have been jailed for four years or less could be released after serving 40% of their original sentence.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said she was forced to trigger the emergency measure “to avert a disaster” as there are only around 1,000 jail places available. The Labour minister accused the previous Government of failing to get a grip on capacity issues in prisons across England and Wales.
Ms Mahmood said the Tories had left jails “on the point of collapse”, adding that she had no choice but to reduce the automatic release point for certain Standard Determinate Sentences (SDS) to free up space in the prisons system.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The new Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with prisons on the point of collapse.
“It has been forced to introduce an early release programme to stop a crisis that would have overwhelmed the criminal justice system, meaning we would no longer be able to lock up dangerous criminals and protect the public.”