Children walk past a police vehicle outside a police station in London, Britain, on Aug. 8, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
Major media in Britain, including The Times and the Financial Times, have reported that prisons were so crowded that court judges had been ordered to delay the sentencing of convicted criminals on bail.
LONDON, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- With prisons in England and Wales about to run out of cells, and knife crime surging in London, the British government is urged to do more to address the associated security concerns.
Major media in the country, including The Times and the Financial Times, have reported that prisons were so crowded that court judges had been ordered to delay the sentencing of convicted criminals on bail.
Lord Justice Edis, the senior presiding judge in England and Wales, had also reportedly told judges to use the cells in magistrates' courts to hold suspects accused of the most serious crimes who were remanded in custody.
Official figures published on Oct. 6 showed that the prison population stood at 88,016, only 651 short of the "usable operational capacity" of 88,667.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the prison population has soared following the COVID-19 pandemic and the barristers' strike. The situation has been exacerbated by a higher than usual number of offenders entering prison this year.
Armed policemen stand guard outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, on Aug. 15, 2018, a day after a man was arrested on suspicion of terror offences after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament. (Xinhua/Ray Tang)
Adding to the concerns is the surging knife crime, including knife-point rapes and sexual assaults, in London. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that more than 12,000 knife offenses have been recorded in the country's capital over the 12 months to the end of March this year, an increase of 16 percent over last year.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has claimed that the cost-of-living crisis has contributed to the rising violence in London as "spiralling costs … push more and more people into poverty and leave young people unable to access activities and at greater risk of exploitation."
Britain running out of prison cells is not helping to address the issue.
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has outlined a plan to tackle the problem, including releasing less serious offenders early from prison, with people guilty of lower-level crimes being given community sentences rather than being locked up.
At the same time, people convicted of serious crimes, such as rape and sexual violence, will be given longer spells.
Police officers are seen on Sutcliffe Street after Sunday's explosion outside Liverpool Women's Hospital in Liverpool, Britain, on Nov. 15, 2021. British police on Monday said the explosion outside Liverpool Women's Hospital in Liverpool is being treated as a terrorist incident. (Photo by Chris Neill/Xinhua)
The measures have generated mixed feelings among the general population.
Christine Haycock, a mother of three who lives in Cheshire, told Xinhua: "There have to be punishments for crimes so that we can all feel safe. I want my kids to feel safe when they are outside. I worry that going soft on criminals will make things a lot worse."
Lawrence Dennett, a researcher from Liverpool, said: "I have always felt we are sending too many people to prisons for non-violent crimes. I would much prefer those offenders to have community sanctions so that the more violent criminals can be locked up to keep them off the streets."
Barry Godfrey, professor of social justice at the University of Liverpool, said some of the new measures are controversial and much more need to be done to address the security issue.
"Politically, it's difficult to talk tough on crime and not convince the British public that you're being tough in giving people non-custodial sentences."
Road blocks are in place at London Luton Airport after a fire at the airport's Terminal Car Park 2 in Britain, Oct. 11, 2023. All flights at London Luton Airport have been suspended until Wednesday afternoon after a massive blaze ripped through one of its car parks. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)
Even though community service may help in some cases, many people, added Godfrey, will still need to serve time behind bars for the protection of society.
Commenting on knife crime, Godfrey said the issue is much more complicated than it seems, and the root causes need to be tackled.
"It's very difficult with knife crime. There is a gang problem, which needs to be addressed, particularly in the major urban centers … But we know that the best way of addressing it is through early-stage intervention. So, providing support for families and young families when they're bringing boys up, getting better education for them, more suitable education for them and getting them into jobs," he said.
"Binding people into society is the best way of preventing people getting into gangs. You need to address the issue of why these young boys join gangs. That's the real issue," he added. ■
