Overcrowding and funding shortages plague Hampshire and Surrey prisons, sparking urgent discussions and potential reforms.
One Tree Books held a prison discussion in Petersfield in early 2025. Amy Dolley from Howard League spoke, offering insights on prisons. Philip Selby organized the event, which followed riots resulting from knife attacks. The riots caused early prisoner releases to make space for new prisoners.
Amy volunteered at a prison church service while at university. This experience deeply affected her, leading her to want to help prisoners. She met many distressed and sad men, but also found stories of hope. They prayed, gave biscuits, checked on them, and helped with letters. She still visits that prison after nine years.
Amy says UK prisons are in a crisis. Too many people are locked up, jails are deteriorating, and rehab is poor. The government now accepts this crisis, and politicians agree something must be done. The UK prison population is predicted to rise by 30% in four years. The actual rise might be larger, and reoffenders make the problem worse.
Prisoners may reoffend after release, facing homelessness or abuse, with lacking other options. The government needs a long-term plan. East Hampshire had 61 reoffenders in a year out of 329 released offenders, Waverley had forty-nine, and Woking had ninety-one.
Amy discussed the causes of overcrowding and its impact on prison life, also covering ways to improve things. Imagine a freezing cold prison cell, twelve by eight feet with a crack in the window, mold, and a rat. This happens today, even in HMP Winchester! You might wait a week for the library needing to study for a course, but staff shortages can stop you.
Church offers some comfort, volunteers like Amy give biscuits and prayer, but emergencies lock you in your cell. Your cellmate is upset about a funeral, and paperwork delays stopped his visit. This happens every day in UK prisons.
UK prisons face several issues: support for neurodivergent prisoners lags, sentences are longer, and remand numbers are high. The population ages, while mental health support is poor, living standards are low, and violence rises. Funding is cut, harming rehabilitation.
The Labour government plans to build more prisons, expand existing ones, and make temporary cells. They aim for 14,000 new places by 2031, but this may not solve overcrowding. Spending on existing prisons might help more, and probation services also need strengthening.
Amy is hopeful about a sentence review led by David Gauke, a former justice secretary. This review could help solve prison problems. Longer sentences increase overcrowding, and tackling this might bring progress. A new Women’s Justice Board is planned to reduce women in prison and reoffending, while supporting children.