The England and Wales prison population has risen significantly in recent decades with a significant uptick starting in the 1990s before reaching a record high in 2024.
The Institute for Government (IFG) think tank says this is partly the result of longer sentences.
In 2023, the average prison sentence at Crown Courts in England and Wales – which deal with more serious offences – was more than 25% longer than those handed down in 2012.
For some crimes, the increase was greater. Sentences for robbery in 2023 were 13 months longer on average than in 2012 – an increase of 36%.
Longer sentences mean more people being held in prison at any one time.
Former Conservative Justice Secretary David Gauke, who led an independent sentencing review for Sir Keir Starmer’s government, argues this is the result of a “bidding war” by political parties since the 1990s over who can imprison people for longer.
Gauke also points out that the prison population has been rising at a time when overall crime in England and Wales has been falling, according to the official Crime Survey.
So despite the fall in crime more people are being sent to prison – and for longer.
