Overcrowding In Prisons

2 March 2015, 07:34 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A charity claims overcrowding in prisons is putting future victims in danger, telling Capital Leicester is one of the worst.

The Howard League for Penal Reform claims 3 in 4 prison's are overcrowded.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data, analysed by the Howard League for Penal Reform, shows Leicester is supposed to hold 214 inmates but has 361 instead.

The charity also claims doubling or trebling was also the norm in other prisons, including Nottingham and Lincoln.

Government 'must get a grip'

Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, told Capital:

'Caging men in squalor with nothing to do all day is never going to help them become law-abiding citizens on release.

'Far too many people are being sent into already overcrowded jails and the need to stem the flow is now urgent.

'Government must get a grip on a prison system in crisis that is feeding the crime problem and creating more victims.'

The Prisons Minister says population levels are safe and overcrowding is at its lowest level since 2008.