Reports Reveals Prison Overcrowding

Some prisoners are enduring poor conditions because of overcrowding, a new report has stated.

The HM Inspectorate of Prisons has found that Doncaster jail had almost 200 more inmates than it could cater for.

The report stated that two-man cells had been turned into three-man cells by placing an extra bed in the toilet area.

Doncaster jail, run by private firm Serco, currently holds almost 1,000 male prisoners.

The Commons Justice Committee said hasty legislation had been a "significant contributor" to the high numbers in prison and blamed the rise in short jail terms on a failure to put enough money into community punishments.

A cross-party committee chaired by Liberal Democrat Alan Beith said: "We urge the Government to address sentencing policy in a more considered and systematic way an to reconsider the merits of this trend.

"Short custodial sentences are very unlikely to contribute to an offender's rehabilitation; in fact, short custodial sentences may increase re-offending," it said.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said the report "makes it perfectly clear that the current prison overcrowding crisis is a product of the government's short-sighted criminal justice policies".

Justice Secretary Jack Straw has already announced "indeterminate sentences" will be amended to apply only to prisoners who are given a minimum of two years in jail.

Chief Inspector of Prisons, Anne Owers said using toilet areas for accommodation was "unacceptable".

In a 2005 inspection of Doncaster, Ms Owers expressed concern than "first night arrangements" and the "expansion of purposeful activity" should be a "key priority for development".

It was also found that in some cases, prisoner's conditions were "squalid" with many inmates lacking pillows, adequate mattresses, toilet seats and working televisions.

Some cells, it was revealed, were "dirty and festooned with graffiti".

However, Ms Owers said that Doncaster was "by no means a bad local prison" and that relationships between staff and most of the population were good.

Last year, Mr Straw announced a £1.2 billion plan for an additional 10,500 prison places.

(DS)