The number of prisoners according to the length of their sentence was, on the 31 December 2017, as follows ¹:

• less than one month: 218 (0.3%)
• between one and three months: 1,076 (1.4%)
• between three and six months: 2,568 (3.4%)
• between six months and a year: 2,590 (3.5%)
• between one and three years: 14,166 (18.9%)
• between three and five years: 9,200 (12.3%)
• between five and ten years: 14,774 (19.8%)
• between 10 and 20  years: 7,927 (10.6%)
• 20  years or more: 713 (1%)
• life sentence: 7,247 (9.7%)
• other: 13,567 (18.1%)

The prison population has risen over the last 30 years. Notably, it has passed from 64,602 prisoners in 2000 to 82,773 in 2018, peaking at 86,634 in 2012. Nicola Padfield gives two reasons for this rise: sentences are more severe; and the possibility of sentencing adjustments are reduced.¹

Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) was placed under the authority of the Ministry of Justice. It is in charge of the management and correct functioning of prison and probation services in both private and public prisons. On 1st April 2017, it replaced the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).
The enforcement of sentences is the responsibility of the prison service and its partners. The Youth Custody Service, which is linked to the prison service, is in charge of the enforcement of sentences for minors.¹

The detention regimes that are carried out are organised into categories. These categories take into account a person’s gender, age and perceived danger. It is the administration that defines each of these categories.

For men:

• Category A: Very high security measures. This regime applies to prisoners whose escape would present a grave danger to the population, police, or the state. This risk is evaluated using three levels: normal, high, and exceptional. Category A is subdivided into three groups: potential, temporary, and confirmed.
• Category B: High security measures aiming to make escape very difficult.
• Category C: Moderate security measures for prisoners who are unlikely to be placed in an open environment without attempting to escape.
• Category D: Minimal security measures for prisoners unlikely to attempt to escape when placed in an open environment.

For women, minors and young adults:

• Category A: Very high security measures. This regime applies to prisoners whose escape would present a grave danger to the population, police, or the state. Women are very rarely put in this category.
• Restricted Status: High security measures. This regime applies to every woman, minor or young adult, accused or convicted, whose escape would present a significant risk to the population.
• Closed Conditions: Moderate security measures. This regime applies to prisoners placed in a secure environment that does not require strict security measures.
• Open conditions: Minimal security measures for prisoners placed in an open environment.¹

The men, women and children imprisoned in England and Wales are incarcerated in different units.

There are four main prison categories for men:

• Trainer prisons: these house category B and C prisoners (the majority of prisoners). These prisons provide facilitated access to professional training and activities. There are 43 category C trainer prisons and 8 that are category B. The category C trainer prisons are at times resettlement prisons. These pool prisoners condemned to sentences of between one and four years. Prisoners are accompanied, during the final three months, by a member of staff in charge of preparations for leaving prison (resettlement providers).
• Local prisons: these house remand prisoners, people sentenced to short jail terms, and those waiting to be transferred to a different facility. There are 29 local prisons.
• Open institutions: these house category D prisoners (low risk). Some prisoners are at the end of their sentence. They have carried out the majority of their sentences in the highest security prisons. There are ten of these open institutions.
• The eight high security prisons are split into two categories:
  • Core locals hold the same categories of prisoners as those in local prisons, under a stricter security regime.
  • Dispersals hold category A prisoners (high risk). Their aim is to spread the prisoners considered most dangerous throughout the entire territory.

There are 12 facilities for women in England and Wales. Two of them, Askham Grange and East Sutton Park, are open institutions.

Minors and young adults are gathered in three types of prisons:

• Young Offender Institutions, YOI
• Secure Training Centres, STC
• Secure Children’s Homes, SCH.¹

The new Five Wells Prison opened its doors. It had approximately 1700 places for Category C inmates (see Overview, Organisation section). The facility was designed with ultra-secure windows without bars and with so-called “smart” technology. Inmates would have access to tablets to support their learning. The cells were called “rooms” and the inmates, “residents”. The facility was in partnership with local employers to promote the professional integration of people leaving prison. Two special wings were dedicated to people living with substance dependence. The British Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, said that the main aim of Five Wells was “to reduce re-offending and make our streets safer”.

Please refer to the Minors section for more information.

The size of facilities varies significantly. The smallest, East Sutton Park, has 101 spaces. It consolidates an open unit for women and a unit for young offenders. The largest, Parc at Bridgend (Wales), has 1,699 spaces. It is managed by the private group G4S. It consolidates a category B unit for men and a young offenders unit.¹

Prison wardens follow a 12-week training programme. Ten of these weeks are devoted to initial training (Prison Officer Entry Level Training, POELT),

This training includes:

• the care of prisoners (first aid, food, hygiene, health and safety, regulations, etc.)
• search and security procedures
• de-escalation techniques (conflict management)

The first and last weeks of training are undertaken in prison. Training continues after the position has been taken, during the year that follows. Individuals assigned to high security prisons sometimes undergo specific two-week training.
The use of augmented reality (AR) is introduced, in 2023, into the training of newly recruited guards. The goal is to make training more immersive, so the new guards are better prepared.
The CPT considers the training of prison officers to be inadequate. It reported, during its visit to HMP Wormwood Scrubs in April 2020, that 28 staff members had been recruited six months earlier, but that 41 subsequently resigned.¹
The national chair of the Prison Officers’ Association warned, in 2023, of a lack of training and experience among new recruits, linked to staff shortages and a high turnover rate.