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Press releasesREF: PR/018/08 DATE: 27th May 2008 To: MPs PRESS RELEASE PRISON POPULATION AT RECORD HIGHThe Prison Population has reached an all time high of 83,000 and concern is again being levelled at the Government for the lack of investment in the prison system over the last ten years. The Ministry of Justice has been further criticised for the lack of investment, as researchers from the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health and a team from Lincoln University identify that only around £300 per year, is spent on prisoners with mental health problems compared to £900 in the community. It appears that as new prison places come on line, more offenders are sent to prison, begging the question, are the public and our prisons really safe? Colin Moses, National Chairman of the POA said; “There has been a significant lack of investment in our prisons for many years and the problems are stacking up. We currently have serious staff shortfalls throughout the service and as new places become available they are immediately filled, this is placing the staff and prisoners alike under tremendous pressure. I often ask myself, how many custodial warrants are outstanding because as a prison place is available a prisoner appears. So are the public really safe or are the police only executing warrants dependant on prison and police cell spaces?” Brian Caton General Secretary of the POA said; “This Union has been identifying the serious problems of prisoners welfare and mental health issues for 20 years and I concur with the findings from the researchers of the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health and the team from Lincoln University. The problems of prison overcrowding and use of prisons to deal with offenders with mental health issues are intrinsically linked. We need to remove the prisoners with serious mental health problems from our prisons and place them in secure safe hospitals were the staff are trained to care for them and prepare them to be returned to society.” For further information contact: |
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