Media: UK to use police station facilities due to prison overcrowding

The British government announced that police cells will be temporarily used to hold prisoners as a measure to combat prison overcrowding, Reuters reports

photo: www.reuters.com

Such actions have already been taken from February 2023 to October 2024.

“The prison population in England and Wales has doubled in the last 30 years, according to official data, leading to overcrowding as new places have failed to keep pace with demand. Justice systems in Scotland and Northern Ireland are run separately,” the publication reads.

In a statement to parliament, UK Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood revealed that the prison system is more than 99 percent full. January saw the highest average monthly increase in the prison population in almost two years, she added.