Recommendation 21

The adult male estate was operating at 98.0% to 99.7% occupancy between October 2022 and August 2024, with many prisons severely overcrowded.71 HMPPS confirmed that around a quarter (23.6%) of prisoners are sharing cells designed for one person, often with an open toilet.72 The Howard League for Penal Reform provided written evidence which noted that overcrowding increases pressures in the prison environment, reducing prisoners’ wellbeing and leading to an increase in violence.73 This is reflected in increases in the rate of assaults, such as fights between prisoners which increased by 14%, and attacks on staff which increased by 19% in the year to September 2024.74