Prison violations punishments rise

CRIME: The number of extra days behind bars given to prisoners as a punishment for rule-breaking rose sharply across Yorkshire last year, figures show. More than 36,000 additional days were added to sentences last year.

THE NUMBER of extra days behind bars given to prisoners as a punishment for rule-breaking rose sharply across Yorkshire last year, figures show.

More than 36,000 additional days were added to sentences last year, the equivalent of nearly four days per prisoner.

It is a rise of 41 per cent on the year before, as governors attempt to crack down on drug-taking, violence and other bad behaviour.

Serious infractions of prison rules can be referred to district judges, who can add extra days to sentences as punishment, but the Howard League for Penal Reform, which analysed official statistics, is campaigning for the practice to end.

The organisation claims additional days put further strain on the prisons system and other punishments should be used instead, such as the withholding of privileges.

Chief Executive Frances Crook said a ban on extra days was in place in Scotland and, with the right approach, could work in England and Wales as well.

She said some prisoners could not be given extra days, such as those on remand, leading to a sense of unfairness among the prison population.

She said: “The explosion in the use of additional days of imprisonment has been a catastrophe for the prison system.

“Rather than solving problems, it has created new ones – piling more pressure on the prison population and worsening overcrowding, which in turn leads to more drug abuse and violence.

“These figures illustrate the urgent need for reform. We need to see a culture change in jails, from top to bottom.

“A prison that resorts again and again to further punishment is an unhealthy prison. Scrapping the imposition of additional days would make prisons safer, fairer and less likely to churn out people who go on to re-offend in the community.”

A spokesperson for the Prison Service stood by the practice, saying: “The public would expect any prisoner who uses a mobile phone behind bars, who attacks prison staff or who smuggles in drugs to be punished and spend more time in prison.”

Category C and D prison HMP Lindholme, near Doncaster, had the greatest use of extra prison days for its size, the analysis of of- ficial figures shows. Judges there handed out 6,150 extra days last year, the equivalent of more than six per prisoner.

The greatest rise in the use of the punishment was at nearby Category C prison HMP Moorland, where the number of extra days nearly quadrupled last year, to 4,118.

Across England and Wales, 44 per cent of additional days were imposed for possession of unauthorised articles, 19 per cent were for drug-related offences and 11 per cent for violent incidents.

Meanwhile, separate figures reveal prisoners have received more than £1m in compensation for lost or damaged property in the past five years.

More than 13,000 taxpayerfunded payouts have been made since 2013 for items including clothing, trainers, DVD players and hair clippers.

Conservative MP Bob Neill, who chairs the Commons Justice Committee, said: “Until prisons properly follow the clear guidance from the Ombudsman, scarce resources, not to mention taxpayers’ money, will continue to be wasted.

“Prisons need to sort it out to ensure that they have an adequate system for property recording.”

A Prison Service spokeswoman said they successfully defended two-thirds of all compensation cases brought by prisoners.

The explosion in the use of additional days ... has been a catastrophe. Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform