One Welsh prison has been identified as one of the most overcrowded in England and Wales, as revealed by Wales Online. The UK Government has announced plans to release around 5,500 prisoners early throughout September and October in an effort to address the longstanding issue of overcrowding in jails. This emergency measure aims to prevent a potential disaster due to prisons operating well above their capacity.
The release of prisoners is expected to include burglars, shoplifters, and fraudsters serving short sentences. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood emphasized the necessity of reducing the automatic release point for certain sentences to free up space in the prisons system. The plan will be reviewed in 18 months and applies to most prisons except for high-security Category A establishments.
In Wales, one prison stands out as among the most overcrowded in the country. According to Ministry of Justice figures, of the five prisons in Wales, four were found to be above capacity in July. HMP Berwyn in Wrexham was slightly below full capacity, with 1,982 inmates in 2,000 cells. However, prisons like HMP Parc in Bridgend, HMP Prescoed in Usk, and Cardiff prison were operating significantly over capacity, with overcrowding levels ranging from 116% to 139%.
The most overcrowded prison in Wales is located in Swansea, a Category B/C facility for adult males. With a prison population of 380 and only 265 cells in use, this prison has a crowding level of 143%, ranking it as the tenth most crowded prison in England and Wales. The situation in Swansea underscores the broader issue of prison overcrowding in the UK.
While Swansea’s prison is overcrowded, prisons in parts of England face even higher levels of overcrowding. Prisons in Exeter, Altcourse, Doncaster, Preston, Wandsworth, Bedford, Lincoln, and Leeds were cited as experiencing severe overcrowding. The most overcrowded prison in England and Wales is noted to be HMP Durham, operating at 172% capacity in July.
The data from Ministry of Justice indicates that in July, there were 87,479 offenders in prisons across England and Wales, only 1,383 below operational capacity. The challenge of overcrowding in prisons remains a critical issue that authorities are working to address. The release of thousands of prisoners early serves as a temporary solution to alleviate overcrowding and prevent potential challenges within the prison system.