What was claimed
The prison population has doubled in 25 years.
Our verdict
It almost has, from 45,000 at the start of the 1990s to around 86,000 today in England and Wales. Prisons have been overcrowded almost constantly for the last two decades.
The rising prison population
8 February 2016
“Over the last 25 years, the prison population has doubled”
Juliet Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust on BBC Today programme, 8 February 2016
Almost—the prison population was about 45,000 in England and Wales in 1990 and 1991 and is now about 86,000.
The prison service is currently facing overcrowding. In 2014/15 almost 26% of prisoners were living in crowded conditions.
Overcrowding has existed across prisons in England and Wales almost constantly for the last two decades.
