BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online

    England and Wales

    Heard, Catherine and Padfield, N. (2022) England and Wales. In: Dunkel, F. and Harrendorf, S. and van Zyl Smit, D. (eds.) The Impact of Covid-19 on Prison Conditions and Penal Policy. Routledge Frontiers of Criminal Justice 1. London, UK and New York, U.S.: Routledge, pp. 169-180. ISBN 9780367769727.

    [img]
    Preview
    Text
    48547.pdf - Author's Accepted Manuscript

    Download (373kB) | Preview

    Abstract

    The Impact of COVID-19 on Prison Conditions and Penal Policy presents the results of a worldwide exchange of information on the impact of COVID-19 in prisons. It also focuses on the human rights questions that have been raised during the pandemic, relating to the treatment of prisoners in institutions for both juveniles and adults worldwide. The prison population rate of England and Wales doubled between 1994 and 2010, remaining fairly stable after 2010. The prison estate remains blighted by poor material conditions and high levels of violence and self-harm. After years of under-investment and inadequate staffing, about half of the country’s prisons are overcrowded. Experts had feared that COVID-19 would take a heavy toll in prisons. By dint of highly restrictive regimes imposed across the estate over several months, the toll in lives and confirmed cases has been less heavy than was feared. This came at the cost of greatly reduced family and social contact, and even less access to education, work and rehabilitation programmes than before COVID-19 struck. Over the first ten months of the pandemic, the total prison population declined. This was due to the national lockdown and court closures, rather than the implementation of much-needed policies to reduce prisoner numbers.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Book Section
    Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge.
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Prisons, prisoners, prison staff, Covid-19, Coronavirus, prison healthcare, prisons in England & Wales
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Business and Law > Birkbeck Law School
    Research Centres and Institutes: Crime & Justice Policy Research, Institute for
    Depositing User: Catherine Heard
    Date Deposited: 07 Jul 2022 13:17
    Last Modified: 14 Oct 2023 00:10
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/48547

    Statistics

    Activity Overview
    6 month trend
    47Downloads
    6 month trend
    143Hits

    Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.

    Archive Staff Only (login required)

    Edit/View Item
    Edit/View Item