Prisoners across the south east see their sentences increased by 116 years due to 'unjust' punishments

More than 42,000 days of additional imprisonment were imposed on prisoners in prisons across the south east region last year, according to research by The Howard League for Penal Reform released this week.

Formal disciplinary hearings – known adjudications – have increased by 76 per cent across the south east since 2012, despite the prison population remaining relatively constant.

Between 2011 and 2018, the largest increase in the number of adjudications was for children aged 15 to 17.

HMP Winchester, which detains more than 470 prisoners, saw 1,283 additional days added to inmates’ sentences.

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: ‘If we must have prisons, they should meet the very highest standards of justice, with disciplinary processes that are fair, discerning and proportionate.‘Rather than solving problems, however, the current system creates new ones. Procedurally unjust and unduly punitive, it succeeds only in driving a pervasive sense of injustice that undermines trust and engagement and leads to more conflict.‘It is time to adopt a different approach. If we look beyond punishment and install procedurally fair processes built on communication, consent and respect, we can make prisons safer and guide more people away from crime.’

Young adults aged 18 to 20 received 14 per cent of all the additional days of imprisonment in 2019 – despite making up just 1 per cent of the prison population.

In the same year, Black, Asian and minority ethnic prisoners accounted for almost a third of all adjudications, while comprising just a quarter of the prison population.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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