Source: Daily Telegraph (UK) 
Pubdate: Tuesday 19 May 1998
Contact:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ 
Author: Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor

JAILS FLOODED BY RISE IN PRISONERS 

THE growing prison population has led to a return of overcrowding in 
Britain's jails, according to a report published today by penal reformers.
Six out of 10 prisons have too many inmates, with some holding nearly 
twice as many prisoners as they were designed for, says the Howard 
League. Much of the overcrowding is in local jails, where inmates tend 
to be those awaiting sentence or transfer to other facilities. Such 
prisons are often housed in Victorian buildings on cramped city-centre 
sites.

According to the Howard League, Shrewsbury jail is under greatest 
pressure, with 335 inmates in a prison designed to hold 182. It is 
followed by Northallerton remand centre, Exeter local/remand centre, 
Canterbury local and Preston local. Frances Crook, director of the 
Howard League, said: "Prisons are desperately over-full. With prison 
numbers continuing to spiral out of control, overcrowding can only get 
worse."

However, Joyce Quin, the Prisons Minister, said the Government was 
aware of the pressures and was taking practical steps to alleviate the 
problem. An extra £112 million had been allocated to the Prison 
Service to increase capacity and make necessary repairs to buildings.

Richard Tilt, director-general of the Prison Service, said: "Levels of 
overcrowding are a continuing source of concern, but it is the 
service's duty to provide accommodation for everyone who is committed 
by the courts."

* Prison officers will today be offered their own pay review body if 
they accept a continued ban on their right to strike. Jack Straw, the 
Home Secretary, will tell the Prison Officers' Association that the 
Government is not prepared to reverse the 1994 Tory legislation 
outlawing strikes in jails but that he is ready to offer them a number 
of options.

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