Nacro response to the Safety in Custody figures released by Ministry of Justice
In response to the latest Ministry of Justice Safety in Custody figures, Nacro Chief Executive, Campbell Robb, said:
“For many people, the experience of going into prison is traumatic and disruptive, and can come on top of an existing mental health condition. These unprecedented figures tell a story of a broken prison system. It simply is not right for thousands* of people to be harming themselves everyday.
“Too often, our prisons are not helping to prepare people for a better life upon release, and can contribute to an increased risk reoffending. We must increase the focus on alternatives to prison if we are to truly tackle stubborn reoffending rates once and for all.
“We need urgent action to follow the recent commitment from government to abolish short prison sentences and explore community-based sentences. This is critical in order to reduce the unnecessarily high numbers of people being sent to overstretched prisons that simply cannot cope.”
*57, 968 total incidents spread over 12 months