| Country | United Kingdom: England & Wales |
|---|
| Ministry responsible |
Ministry of Justice
|
|---|---|
| Prison administration |
Her Majesty's Prison Service/National Offender Management Service (NOMS)
|
| Contact address |
Clive House, 70 Petty France, London SW1H 9EX, England
|
| Telephone |
+44 300 047 6325
|
| Website | |
| Head of prison administration (and title) | Amy Rees
Director General/Chief Executive
|
| Prison population total (including pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners) | 87 801
at 27.10.2023 (Ministry of Justice - not including juveniles in Secure Training Centres and Local Authority Secure Children's Homes, of whom there were 143 at 30.9.2023)
|
|---|---|
| Prison population rate (per 100,000 of national population) | 146
based on an estimated national population of 60.20 million at end of October 2023 (from Office for National Statistics figures)
|
| Pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners (percentage of prison population) | 18.5%
(30.9.2023)
|
| Female prisoners (percentage of prison population) | 4.1%
(27.10.2023)
|
| Juveniles / minors / young prisoners incl. definition (percentage of prison population) | 0.3%
(30.9.2023 - under 18. In addition to these 301 juveniles, a further 59 were being held in Secure Training Centres and 84 in Local Authority Secure Children's Homes.)
|
| Foreign prisoners (percentage of prison population) | 12.4%
(30.9.2023 - including those whose nationality is unknown)
|
| Number of establishments / institutions | 120
(2023)
|
| Official capacity of prison system | 78 511
(29.9.2023 - certified normal accommodation in use)
|
| Occupancy level (based on official capacity) | 111.8%
(29.9.2023)
|
| Prison population trend (year, prison population total, prison population rate) |
|
|---|
UK Ministry of Justice launches new data-driven jail improvement initiative
Prisoners suffer cancelled appointments and poorer healthcare
Women leaving prison almost three times less likely to be employed on release than men
Two in five prisons in poor condition, watchdog finds
High number of prison deaths are preventable, says damning new report
Pages
Story of the Prison Population: 1993 – 2016
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Annual Report 2014–15
The coalition years: Criminal justice in the United Kingdom: 2010 to 2015
Preventing Deaths in Detention of Adults with Mental Health Conditions
Custody to community: how young people cope with release
Pages
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
HM Inspectorate of Probation
HM Inspectorate of Prisons
Women in Prison
Institute for Criminal Policy Research
Pages
- Pre-trial/remand prison population: trend
- Female prison population: trend
- Prison population trend up to 2000
Pre-trial/remand prison population: trend
The table below gives an indication of the recent trend in the pre-trial/remand prison population. The final row shows the latest figures available.
It consists of the number of pre-trial/remand prisoners in the prison population on a single date in the year (or the annual average) and the percentage of the total prison population that pre-trial/remand prisoners constituted on that day.
The final column shows the pre-trial/remand population rate per 100,000 of the national population.
UNITED KINGDOM: ENGLAND AND WALES
Year | Number in | Percentage | Pre-trial/remand |
2000 | 11,433 | 17.5% | 22 |
2023 | 16,196 | 18.5% | 27 |
It should be noted that the number of pre-trial/remand prisoners fluctuates from day to day, month to month and year to year. Consequently the above figures give an indication of the trend but the picture is inevitably incomplete.
The pre-trial/remand population rate is calculated on the basis of the national population total. All national population figures are inevitably estimates but the estimates used in the World Prison Brief are based on official national figures, United Nations figures or figures from other recognised international authorities.
Female prison population: trend
The table below gives an indication of the trend in the female prison population. The final row shows the latest figures available.
It consists of the number of female prisoners in the prison population on a single date in the year (or the annual average) and the percentage of the total prison population that female prisoners constituted on that day.
The final column shows the female prison population rate per 100,000 of the national population.
UNITED KINGDOM: ENGLAND AND WALES
Year | Number of | Percentage | Female prison |
2000 | 3,350 | 5.2% | 6.4 |
2023 | 3,607 | 4.1% | 6.0 |
The number of female prisoners fluctuates and so the above figures give an indication of the trend but the picture is inevitably incomplete.
The female prison population rate is calculated on the basis of the national population total. All national population figures are inevitably estimates but the estimates used in the World Prison Brief are based on official national figures, United Nations figures or figures from other recognised international authorities.
(If the rate were calculated on the basis of the number of females in the national population it would of course be approximately double the figure in the final column).
Prison population trend up to 2000
The figures below give an indication of the prison population trend in the years up to 2000. They supplement the more recent figures that are shown at the foot of the Overview page and in the graphs below.
UNITED KINGDOM: ENGLAND AND WALES
|
Year |
Prison |
Prison population rate |
|
1900 |
17,435 |
54 |