Minister won’t deny UK government may rent prison space in Estonia
A government official has not confirmed or denied rumors that authorities are considering transferring convicted criminals from England and Wales to Estonia to serve their jail time.
The Ministry of Justice is considering different options to increase capacity after the Baltic state offered to rent out extra space to other countries. This was reported by The Daily Telegraph.
According to information from the government, the Telegraph reported that a possible solution was being considered after the shortage of available cells in men's prisons in England and Wales. Last month, there were only 83 spare spaces left.
New data released on Friday revealed that the number of inmates in prisons has hit an all-time high, with 88,521 individuals currently incarcerated. This is 171 more than the previous record, which was set just last week.
Angela Eagle, who holds a position in the Home Office, chose not to give a direct response when questioned by Sky News about the government's potential plan to rent cells for British prisoners in Estonia. She explained that this matter did not fall under her specific duties as a minister.
She mentioned that her coworkers are likely exploring various solutions to address the crisis that was inherited from the previous administration in terms of prison capacity, the prison system, and the criminal justice system as a whole.
She stated: "The previous administration shut down many prison facilities and failed to build new ones, so I believe that officials in the Ministry of Justice will be exploring all options to solve the issue."
We shouldn't allow individuals who have been found guilty of dangerous or severe offenses to avoid being incarcerated.
According to The Telegraph, Estonia has such a low crime rate that their prisons are only halfway filled. This has sparked optimism that criminals convicted in England and Wales could provide a €30m (£25m) financial benefit to Estonia.
The Minister of Justice, Shabana Mahmood, and Liisa Pakosta, her counterpart from Estonia, were set to talk about prison sharing at a Council of Europe gathering in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Thursday.
Pakosta mentioned to the Telegraph: "The United Kingdom and Estonia have a track record of working well together on the global stage, and joining forces in this way would open up more chances for mutual growth and exchange of knowledge."
Proposing to send criminals to Estonia was suggested by Alex Chalk, the previous justice minister, during the Conservative conference last year. The Labour party criticized the proposal, saying it showed the Conservative party's lack of ability and insufficient funding. The Prison Reform Trust described the idea as poorly thought out.
The amount of individuals incarcerated in England and Wales has grown from around 40,000 in 1991 to over 88,000, showing an increase of over 1,000 in the last month.
Next week, around 1,500 individuals are set to be freed from prison as part of an emergency plan that decreases the percentage of their sentence to be served in prison from 50% to 40% for certain offenders.
The SDS40 program is set to begin on September 10th, allowing 5,500 inmates to be released within two months. Those serving shorter sentences of five years or less will be eligible for release first. Inmates who have served longer sentences of five years or more will be able to be released on October 22nd.
