The UK’s justice system faces unprecedented court backlogs and prisoner numbers after the coronavirus crisis, a new report has warned.
It comes as new figures show the number of coronavirus cases in prisons could be six times higher than the official published figure.
New figures from Public Health England found 1,783 “possible/probable” cases on top of the 304 confirmed infections in prisons across England and Wales.
By 2023/24, the prison population could rise to 95,000, its highest level ever, the Institute for Government has warned.
Their report found the government’s pledge to provide another 10,000 prison places would not be enough to meet the predicted rise, and said an extra £250m a year of spending would be required just to maintain current levels of performance in prisons.
Prisons in England and Wales are already close to capacity, with cases of violence and self-harm increasing sharply over the last decade.
At the same time, the coronavirus lockdown has seen courtrooms closed for all but a small number of cases.
The research suggests waiting times to hear cases could increase by more than 70% in the event of a six-month lockdown, with many defendants and victims forced to wait more than half a year for trials in the crown courts.
This could result in the highest average waiting time ever recorded, the IfG said.
To resolve the backlog, the think-tank calculates the Government would need to spend an extra £55 million to £110 million a year for two years so the necessary extra trials could take place.
IfG programme director Nick Davies, who wrote the report, said: “Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the Government’s pledge to increase police officer numbers could have resulted in courts and prisons being overwhelmed by an increase in cases.
“The effect of the coronavirus outbreak now means that there will also be huge delays in cases reaching courts – and therefore justice delayed – without more spending.”
Public Health England found no “explosive outbreaks” of coronavirus in jails, but said “significant threats remain”.
Labour ’s David Lammy called for mass testing in the prison population to ensure the virus doesn’t spread out of control.
He said: “The truth is that the government does not know the true scale of the covid-19 outbreak in prisons because very few staff and prisoners have been tested for the virus.
“Explosive outbreaks in prisons are not only extremely dangerous for those on the prison estate.
“Scientists have warned that prisons can become pumps that spread the virus out of prisons, into hospitals and the general public.”
