Ministers are weighing up the possibility of converting female spaces to male in the next few months as they look to cut the number of women behind bars
Britain’s female prisons could be converted into cells for male lags to help tackle the overcrowding crisis. Prisons minister Catherine McKinnell is thought to be looking into the possibility of converting female spaces to male in the next few months as the Government looks to reduce the number of women in prison.
Andy Burnham announced during the summer that ministers were keen to look at freeing more women in prison to build capacity in the system to avoid the early release of more dangerous male prisoners.
However, details released this week on how the government will tackle the crisis placed emphasis on deporting foreign offenders and reducing the number of prisoners serving highly controversial imprisonment for public protection sentences, which keep people inside for an indefinite spell.
If plans to reduce the number of female prisoners goes ahead, sources say officials have told ministers it will need much longer-term planning.
The chief executive of penal reform charity the Howard League, Andrea Coomber said a genuine reduction in the number of women prisoners would be welcome, but it should not simply happen to free up space for men.
She said: “[It] does nothing to fix a prison system that is fundamentally too full – it just moves the crisis from one part of the estate to another.
“Without real investment in women’s centres and community alternatives, women risk being sacrificed to the scramble for more beds for men.” Women represent less than 5% of the total prison population in Britain, with 12 dedicated jails.
Government sources also said those who would be more likely to be freed would be those on mother and baby units where they cannot be replaced by male prisoners.
Around 4,500 prisoners are to be released early in 10 tranches starting from October. This is 1,500 fewer than before a backlash from victims and families came in the summer and the Prime Minister changed plans to prevent the early release of offenders guilty of all forms of manslaughter, rapists, child sexual abusers and groomers.