Prisoner numbers to fall to lowest in over a decade

THE prison population is set to fall to its lowest for more than a decade amid a collapse in charging rates and delays in bringing offenders to court, Ministry of Justice (MOJ) figures show.

The MOJ projects that the numbers being held in jail will drop from the current 83,116 to 81,200 in 2021, its lowest since 2007, when it was around 80,000 before jumping to 83,000.

It admits the slump in the number of criminals being charged has led to a fall of 9 per cent in the number of offenders given immediate jail sentences.

It follows warnings by England and Wales’s most senior criminal judge, Sir Brian Leveson, that the criminal justice system is in danger of collapse with many crimes not being prosecuted.

Just 9 per cent of reported crimes result in a charge or summons, the lowest detection rate since 2015.

A report from the Bar Council found that the MOJ had sustained 27 per cent cuts in funding in real terms over a decade and the Crown Prosecution Service had faced cuts of 34 per cent.

However, the projections do not take account of policy changes announced by Boris Johnson which could increase the number of criminals being jailed in the longer term.

The number of police officers is to rise by 20,000, a further 10,000 prison places are to be created and violent and sexual offenders face longer sentences under a review commissioned by the Prime Minister.

The MOJ report said: “Unanticipated changes to government policy, as well as offender, police and sentencing behaviours, will inevitably mean the actual prison population in future years will differ to some degree from projections.

“In particular, the Government’s commitment to the recruitment of 20,000 new police officers is expected to increase charge rates and, as such, is likely to result in a higher future prison population than may otherwise be expected.”