This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/7623026.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Prison numbers could rise by 15% Prison estimates revised downward
(about 3 hours later)
The prison population in England and Wales could rise to 95,800 by 2015, the Ministry of Justice has said. The government has revised its highest projected prison population number for England and Wales in 2015 downwards from 101,900 to 95,800.
The projection - the highest of three scenarios based on sentencing trends - represents an increase of nearly 15% on the current inmate level of 83,518. The estimate is based on changes in sentencing trends and early release programmes continuing.
But the figures still suggest the rate increase, which is up by nearly 30% since 2000, is slowing. But the Ministry of Justice said it is committed to jailing the most serious, dangerous and persistent offenders.
The government says it is committed to jailing the most serious, dangerous, violent and persistent offenders. The Conservatives said the figures showed the government had mismanaged prisons, not that crime was falling.
The medium projection for 2015 is 89,700, a rise of 6,182 or more than 7%, while the bottom end number is 83,400. The latest figures show prisons in England and Wales are holding 83,518 people at present.
Overcrowding has seen more than 34,000 prisoners released early since summer 2007. Even the highest projected figure for 2015 suggests the rate of increase in the jail population, which rose by nearly 30% between 2000 and 2008, is slowing.
Prisons Minister David Hanson said the government's prison building and renovation plans would see capacity rise to more than 96,000 by 2014. The median projection for 2015 is 89,700, while the bottom end number is 83,400.
"We will always ensure we have enough prison places for those offenders who need to be locked up," he said.