Crisis in Custody: The Unfolding Human Rights Emergency in UK Prisons

The prison system in England and Wales is no doubt facing an unprecedented crisis. The number of prisoners is still at a six-month high and there are approximately 87,500 people in custody. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has produced a critical report urging the Gov-ernment to take rapid action to address this crisis.

The PAC report addresses the UK prison system crisis highlighting escalating violence, severe overcrowding and inadequate rehabilitation services.

Overcrowding, understaffing and inadequate resources have led to a strained system where they have been unable to meet the needs of both detainees and staff. There has been a growing issue of prisoners being held temporarily in police cells, rather than being transferred to prisons or detention facilities. This raises many human rights concerns.

Operation Safeguard and the Use of Police Cells

In an attempt to address the lack of capacity in prisons, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has implemented Operation Safeguard, an emergency measure allowing for the use of police cells to hold prisoners when prisons have run out of capacity.

Police cells are designed for the short-term detention of individuals awaiting processing or court appearances. They are not designed to accommodate prisoners serving long sentences. Such an approach will no doubt have an impact on the prisoner’s rights and welfare.

Criticisms from the PAC

In its report, the PAC has set out recommendations for the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and HM Prison and Probation Services (HMPPS) so that they can take steps to address the prison crisis. The main criticisms and concerns raised by the PAC report are summarised as follows:

1. Unrealistic and delayed prison expansion plans
2. Inhumane living conditions
3. Ineffective rehabilitation efforts and a failure to reduce re-offending
4. Increased violence and safety risks due to overstretched facilities.
5. A lack of strategic planning

The PAC reports has included several recommendations for the MOJ and HMMPS which should be addressed in their Treasury of Minute Response:

1. Apply lessons learned from their current projects to improve future major estate projects
2. Explain how they will ensure plans are realistic, especially regarding risk management and planning permission
3. Create a business case to address the prison estate maintenance backlog
4. Evaluate the impact of prison capacity pressures (the PAC have highlighted key areas on what this should focus on)
5. Develop a plan to improve rehabilitation efforts.
6. Outline how changes to probation and sentencing will affect reoffending rates.

Government Response on 16th May 2025

The Government provided a response to the prison overcrowding, noting the following key points:

• It will apply lessons learned from past-building projects to improve future delivery.
• It will improve planning for prison places, with better risk and planning permission strategies.
• The creation of a separate business case for the prison maintenance backlog was rejected, with the Government stating that the funding depends on the Spending Review
• It will update Parliament after the spring 2025 Sentencing Review covering maintenance, capacity and probation impact.
• It acknowledged emergency measures are costly and is now using investments to push for long -term funding.
• It disagreed with recommendation of extra evaluation of risk assessments for new prisoners, instead stating that existing safety processes are in place.
• It will assess the impact of overcrowding on self-harm and violence and is already monitoring prison safety data.
• It agreed to improve access to education, work and time outside the cells and holding prisoners accountable for delivery.
• Noted plans to improve rehabilitation and reduce reoffending will be shared after the Sentencing Review and this will include funding and targets.

Potential consequences of overcrowding

The response outlined above indicates a lack of urgency in addressing these concerns. Notably the following consequences are likely to be experienced by those living in overcrowded and unsuitable conditions, which may have long-lasting consequences.

• Overcrowding and poor living conditions may result in breaches of Article 3 (which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment) and/or Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (a right to private and family life).
• The ability to deliver programmes aimed at supporting rehabilitation may be compromised insofar as there are insufficient resources to meet demand, which in turn is likely to impact the reoffending rates (further compounding the existing difficultly of overcrowding). In addition, a lack of educational and therapeutic programmes will inevitably decrease the chance of a person successfully integrating back into society.
• A lack of therapeutic support, as well as treatment and assistance in addressing drug and alcohol use, may result in individuals needing that help being unable to access it (again increasing the risk of reoffending on release, and further continuing the problem of overcrowding)
• The increased risk of self-harm and suicide; a lack of adequate mental health resources due the overcrowding would likely result in a higher rate of self-harm and higher risk of suicide. The fact of overcrowding and the conditions in which prisoners are expected to live as a result of this, would understandably result their mental health being adversely impacted. Overcrowding will also inevitably impact vulnerable prisoners as well as the effectiveness of preventing prisoner on prisoner assaults as it will be harder to monitor those risks and intervene.

Whilst overcrowding within the prison system needs to urgently be addressed, a more appropriate solution is needed to address overcrowding without reliance on police cells. This approach is entirely unsuitable, and will no doubt have a detrimental effect on the emotional and physical welfare of prisoners; it appears to be a short-term, short-sighted attempt at a solution and is effectively one that kicks the can down the road without properly and effectively addressing any of the problems raised by the PAC. As a consequence, it is anticipated that those within the prison system will inevitably be more vulnerable to harm, and to experiencing a breach of their Convention rights.

We believe that every individual – including those in custody, deserves to be treated with dignity and fairness. Our Civil Liberties & Human Rights team has a long history of holding the state to account when people’s rights are violated in prison or detention settings. If you or a loved one has been affected by poor prison conditions, inadequate healthcare, or potential breaches of your human rights, we’re here to help. Contact our legal experts on 0330 822 3451 today to discuss your concerns in confidence.