- Country
- Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
- Ministry responsible
- Ministry of Health and Social Development
- Prison administration
- His Majesty’s Virgin Islands Prison Service (HMVIPS)
- Contact address
-
P.O. Box 627, East End, Tortola, VG1120
British Virgin Islands - Telephone
- Head of prison administration
-
Daniel Pruce, Governor
Prison population data
| Prison population total (including pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners) |
132
at December 2023 (national prison administration)
|
|---|---|
| Prison population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
426
based on an estimated national population of 31,000 at December 2023 (from United Nations figures)
|
| Pre-trial detainees / remand prisoners (percentage of prison population) |
Circac. 37.0%
(November 2014)
|
| Female prisoners (percentage of prison population) |
4.5%
(December 2023)
|
| Juveniles / minors / young prisoners incl. definition (percentage of prison population) |
1.5%
(November 2014 - under 18)
|
| Foreign prisoners (percentage of prison population) |
68 British Virgin Islanders and 49 expatriates comprised the prison population in July 2010.
|
| Number of establishments / institutions |
1
(2023 - Balsam Ghut)
|
| Official capacity of prison system |
85
(December 2023)
|
| Occupancy level (based on official capacity) |
155.3%
(December 2023)
|
Prison population trend
| Year | Prison population total | Prison population rate |
|---|---|---|
| 105 | 457 | |
| 117 | 450 | |
| 117 | 418 | |
| 138 | 476 | |
| 134 | 462 | |
| 143 | 477 |
Prison population total
Prison population rate
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.
VIRGIN ISLANDS (UNITED KINGDOM)
| Year | Number of female prisoners | Percentage of total prison population | Female prison population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
| 2010 | 6 | 5.1% | 22.2 |
| 2023 | 6 | 4.5% | 19.4 |
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.
VIRGIN ISLANDS (UNITED KINGDOM)
| Year | Prison population total | Prison population rate (per 100,000 of national population) |
| 1936 1955 1970 1975 1999 | 3 6 8 15 43 | - 75 80 136 215 |
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