Statement – Independent Review of the Prison System

The Government has announced an independent review into the prison system led by former Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

The review will provide an assessment of the current, emerging and future risks and opportunities facing the prison system, including issues of security, safety, capacity, and staffing.

Community has long called for an overhaul of the prison system and we have drawn particular attention to the the safety issues faced by justice, custodial and immigration workers through our Keep Us Safe campaign.

Assistant General Secretary, Alasdair McDiarmid, said:

“Community welcomes the announcement of this independent review, which offers an opportunity to investigate the complex challenges facing the prison system.

“We have long advocated for reforms that address chronic prison overcrowding and the recruitment and retention crisis in the custodial sector so are pleased to see that issues around safety, security and staff will be considered.

“We look forward to feeding into this review, including through our Beyond Bars 2.0 report, which is due later this year and will highlight many of the issues affecting our members across the custodial sector.”

National Secretary for Justice, Gavin Miller, said:

“It is positive to see this review will consider and assess the current and imminent challenges facing the prison system.

“Issues of chronic overcrowding, crumbling infrastructure and staff shortages have made it clear that the system requires a major overhaul.

“While long-term solutions are important, many prison staff are facing threats to their safety right now, an issue we drew attention to in our Keep Us Safe campaign.

“These workers deserve better and we hope the findings of this review can be used to form a new strategy that will provide a pathway to the renewal of our prison system.”