:United Kingdom prison population

{{also|Race and crime in the United Kingdom}}

People of minority ethnicities (BAME) constitute 13% of the general population, but make up 27% of the prison population. In 2017, a review led by David Lammy MP concluded that the justice system was biased against this group, and required reform.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41191311|title=Bias against ethnic minorities 'needs to be tackled' in justice system|date=8 September 2017|website=BBC News|access-date=31 March 2019}} 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".{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/29/more-than-half-young-people-jail-are-of-bme-background|title=More than half of young people in jail are of BME background|last=Grierson|first=Jamie|date=29 January 2019|website=The Guardian|access-date=31 March 2019}} 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.{{cite web |title=Ethnicity and the Criminal Justice System, 2020 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ethnicity-and-the-criminal-justice-system-statistics-2020/ethnicity-and-the-criminal-justice-system-2020 |website=gov.uk |publisher=Ministry of Justice}}

Notes:

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. 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.{{cite news |last1=Doward |first1=Jamie |title=Muslim gangs 'are taking control of prison' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/may/25/prisonsandprobation.ukcrime |work=The Guardian |date=25 May 2008}}{{cite news |title=Muslim gangs imposing sharia law in British prisons |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/7428933/Muslim-gangs-imposing-sharia-law-in-British-prisons.html |work=The Telegraph |date=15 March 2010}}{{cite news |title='Sharia courts' in British prisons |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-36437686 |work=BBC News |date=2 June 2016}}{{cite news |title=End of Sharia courts in jail: Crackdown on terrorists radicalising prisoners behind bars |url=https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/terrorists-banned-from-socialising-sharia-court-prison/ |work=LBC |date=27 April 2022}} 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.{{cite news |last=Withnall |first=A. |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-s-jails-facing-growing-problem-of-forced-conversion-to-islam-officers-warn-8892645.html |title=Britain's jails facing 'growing problem' of forced conversion to Islam, officers warn |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=20 October 2013}} There have been multiple cases of non-Muslim prisoners threatened with violence{{Cite news |last=Ford |first=Richard |date=7 June 2019 |title=Muslim gangs 'beat prisoners' who will not convert to Islam |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/muslim-gangs-beat-prisoners-who-will-not-convert-to-islam-gcb8nb2md |access-date=23 April 2022 |issn=0140-0460}} with "convert or get hurt" being a commonly used phrase by Muslim gangs according to an independent report published by the government.{{cite web |last1=Bloom |first1=Colin |title=Does government 'do God?' An independent review into how government engages with faith |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1152684/The_Bloom_Review.pdf |website=gov.uk |publisher=Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities |access-date=26 April 2023}} 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.{{cite news |title=Muslims have won power battle between prison gangs, says hero of London Bridge attack |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/02/muslims-won-battle-prison-gangs-says-london-bridge-hero/ |work=The Telegraph |date=2 April 2024}} Prisoners who refuse to convert or who stand up to Islamic gangs are at risk of being attacked and face death threats. Some prisons have been unable to cope with the rise of Islamic gangs, and have opted to place threatened inmates into isolation units for their own safety. 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.{{cite news |title=One in five Muslim prisoners is white as ‘gangs drive conversions’ |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/19/one-five-muslim-prisoners-white-islamic-gangs-conversions/ |work=The Telegraph |date=19 March 2024}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Dearden |first1=Lizzie |title=How British prisons became a breeding ground for Islamist extremism |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/islam-extremism-uk-prisons-radical-religion-jail-muslims-terrorism-a8554971.html |work=The Independent |date=25 September 2018}}{{cite news |title=Prison terrorism: Warnings over failure to stop radicalisation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61234614 |work=BBC News |date=27 April 2022}} Concerns were first raised in 2010 by the Royal United Services Institute over the growing radicalisation of Muslims in prisons.{{cite news |title=UK faces new wave of homegrown attacks - report |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-security-threat-idUKTRE67P5BE20100826 |work=Reuters |date=26 August 2010}} 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.{{cite news |title=Terrorism offenders 'enjoy high status' in prison, QC's official report says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/27/terrorism-offenders-enjoy-high-status-in-prison-qcs-official-report-says |work=The Guardian |date=27 April 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Jonathan |title=Terrorism in Prisons |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1071318/terrorism-in-prisons.pdf |website=gov.uk}} 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.{{cite web |title=CONTEST: The United Kingdom's Strategy for Countering Terrorism 2023 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1171084/CONTEST_2023.pdf |website=gov.uk |publisher=Home Office |access-date=18 July 2023}} Attempts to engage imprisoned terrorists with de-radicalisation programmes have been largely unsuccessful.{{cite news |last1=Hymas |first1=Charles |title=Islamic terrorists 'refuse to be deradicalised in prison' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/08/09/islamic-terrorists-refuse-deradicalised-prison/ |work=The Telegraph |date=9 August 2022}}

Notes:

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.{{cite web |title=Table 1.Q.12: Prison population by nationality and sex, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/662906d33b0122a378a7e5ea/Prison-population-31-Mar-2024.ods |website=gov.uk |publisher=Ministry of Justice |access-date=27 April 2024}}

Notes:

In 2024, The Telegraph conducted analysis of Ministry of Justice data on foreign nationals alongside recent census data and found that 1 in 50 Albanians in the UK were in jail. Albanians had the highest imprisonment rate, followed by Kosovans, Vietnamese, Algerians, Jamaicans, Eritreans, Iraqis and Somalis. Conversely German, Italian, Indian, Greek, US, Sri Lankan, French and Chinese nationals were the least likely nationalities to be in prison. Overall, the imprisonment rate of foreign nationals was 27 per cent higher than for British citizens.{{cite news |last1=Hymas |first1=Charles |last2=Butcher |first2=Ben |title=Revealed: First migrant crime table |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/10/04/one-in-50-albanians-uk-in-prison-telegraph-analysis/ |work=The Telegraph |date=4 October 2024}}

Notes:

Children and young people aged under 18 are not sent to adult prisons if they are sentenced to custody.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/young-people-in-custody|title=Young people in custody|website=Gov.uk|access-date=31 March 2019}} 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).

The number of children in custody has declined since mid-2008, from more than 3,000 to about 900 at any one time.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/feb/28/children-in-young-offender-institutions-at-risk-of-abuse-inquiry-finds|title=More than 1,000 claims of child sexual abuse in custody, inquiry reveals|last=Robert Booth|first=Eric Allison|date=28 February 2019|website=The Guardian|access-date=31 March 2019}} 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”.

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. 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.{{cite news|author1=Jamie Doward and Gaby Bissett|title=Rolf Harris leaves behind gilded lifestyle for vulnerable prison unit|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/06/rolf-harris-prison-unit|access-date=7 July 2014|work=The Guardian|date=6 July 2014}}

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.{{cite news|title=Could elderly prisoners move into secure care homes?|url=https://insidetime.org/could-elderly-prisoners-move-into-secure-care-homes/|access-date=14 February 2018|publisher=Inside Time|date=30 January 2018}}

3,635 women were recorded in the prison population (4.1%) at the end of the first quarter of 2024. As of 2018, most were serving time for non-violent offences.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/secretary-of-state-launches-dedicated-strategy-to-break-the-cycle-of-female-offending|title=Secretary of State launches dedicated strategy to 'break the cycle' of female offending|last=Ministry of Justice|date=27 June 2018|website=Gov.UK}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-45627845|title=Why doesn't prison work for women?|last=Jessica Labhart|first=Lisa Wright|date=29 September 2018|website=BBC News}} In 2018 the government launched a new Female Offender Strategy to try and address the needs of this particular population.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/life-in-prison/pregnancy-and-childcare-in-prison|title=Prison Life|website=Gov UK|access-date=31 March 2019}} Women who give birth in prison may keep their baby for the first 18 months in a mother and baby unit.

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.

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.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.

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.”{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/20/proportion-of-uk-prisoners-with-drug-problem-doubles-in-five-years-study |title=Proportion of UK prisoners with drug problem doubles in five years – study |date=2020-01-20 |work=The Guardian }}

• List of countries by incarceration rate

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite news | last = Travis | first = Alan | title = Revealed: the hidden army in UK prisons | work = The Guardian | date = 2009-09-25 | pages = 1–2 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/sep/24/jailed-veteran-servicemen-outnumber-troops | access-date = 2009-09-25}}

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• [https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-prison-service HM Prison Service - England and Wales]
• [http://www.sps.gov.uk Scottish Prison Service]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100114082206/http://www.niprisonservice.gov.uk/ Northern Ireland Prison Service]

Category:Imprisonment and detention

Category:Incarceration rates

Prison population