Costly Emergency Prison Accommodation Close To Breaking Point, Warns BMA, UK
The number of prisoners being held after sentencing in police and court cells has more than trebled in the last three weeks from 65 to 4081. Government ministers have confirmed that holding a prisoner in a police cell costs the taxpayer an estimated £385 per night while detaining them in a court cell results in a bill of £300 per night2. The total cost of housing prisoners in police cells after their sentencing in 2007 was £28, 003, 2643.
The overall prison population has also continued to increase and on Friday, 15th February reached a record high of 81, 918.
Dr George Fernie, Chairman of the BMA's Forensic Medicine Committee, said:
"Recent increases in the number of prisoners entering the flimsy and makeshift system of temporary prison accommodation have left doctors struggling to cope.
"Forensic physicians who staff police stations and courts often do not have enough resources and equipment required to cope with emergency incidents, such as suicide attempts.
"It is also impossible to begin any form of long term treatment for mental health and drug addiction. This is a crucial requirement as an estimated two thirds of prisoners who enter custody are drug dependent and seven out of ten have one or more mental health problems.
"These individuals need immediate intensive attention so that the potential cause of their criminal behaviour can be addressed. Placing prisoners in cramped police and court cells without full health care will simply contribute to the appalling re-offending rates in the UK. Currently two thirds of prisoners commit a crime within two years of release.
"It is simply ridiculous that the Government has been spending millions of pounds on keeping prisoners in these completely inappropriate conditions. The failure to address re-offending is also adding an unknown but additional cost through the impact of crime.
"The Government must commit itself to phasing out this wasteful and damaging system."
Notes
Forensic physicians, formerly referred to as police surgeons, undertake initial assessments of prisoners when they enter custody and provide medical cover for police stations and, in some cases, the courts.
1. The Ministry of Justice publishes weekly updates on the prison population: click here.
On Friday, 25th January the number of prisoners being held under Operation Safeguard, (the Government's programme for keeping inmates in prison cells) and court cells stood at 65. This has increased to 408 according to figures released on Friday, February 15th.
2. In a Parliamentary answer to Simon Hughes MP on 18th June 2007, the Minister of State for Justice, David Hanson MP, revealed the costs of keeping prisoners in police and court cells: click here.
In his response, the Minister of State for Justice said:
We estimate that it costs around £385 per place per night to hold a prisoner in a police cell, and around £300 for every place in a court cell.
3. On 23rd January 2008, the Minister of State for Justice, David Hanson MP, also published a breakdown of costs for the use of prison cells under Operation Safeguard, with a total bill of £28, 003, 264: click here
View a copy of the BMA's call for prison reform during 2008: click here.
http://www.bma.org.uk
Costisitoare de urgenþã închisoare de cazare aproape de punctul de rupere, avertizeazã BMA, Marea Britanie - Costly Emergency Prison Accommodation Close To Breaking Point, Warns BMA, UK - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate