Men's prisons could run out of space in months, government warns

政府警告：男子监狱或于数月内人满为患

Men's prisons in England and Wales could run out of space later this year, the government has warned, as it announced three new jails costing a total of £4.7bn will be built starting this year.

英国政府发出警告，英格兰和威尔士的男子监狱极有可能在今年晚些时候出现人满为患的状况。与此同时，政府宣布将从今年起着手建造三座新监狱，总投入高达 47 亿英镑。

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood revealed the expansion plans in Downing Street alongside Amy Rees, the outgoing chief executive of His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).

司法大臣沙巴娜·马哈茂德与即将卸任的英国监狱与缓刑服务局局长艾米·里斯在唐宁街共同公布了监狱扩建计划。

Ms Rees outlined how the male prison population was at 99% capacity and set to run out of room in November. She highlighted issues like longer average sentences and not enough new prison capacity as contributing factors to the crisis.

里斯女士介绍道，当前男性囚犯数量已达到监狱容量的 99%，预计到 11 月监狱将再无空位。她着重指出，平均服刑期限的延长以及新监狱建设进度滞后是造成此次监狱危机的关键因素。

A high number of criminals being recalled to custody was also noted. Repeating previous schemes to release people earlier in their sentences would "only buy us time", Ms Rees said.

此外，她还提到，大量罪犯被重新召回监狱羁押。里斯女士表示，若再次沿用以往提前释放囚犯的做法，“只能暂时缓解压力，并非长久之计”。

Ms Mahmood went on to criticise the Conservatives, saying the situation the UK found itself in was "shameful". She claimed Labour added 28,000 places under Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's governments, while the 14 years of Tory-rule after that only saw 500 new places.

马哈茂德女士随即对保守党提出批评，称英国目前面临的监狱困境“实在令人汗颜”。她表示，工党在托尼·布莱尔和戈登·布朗执政期间，为监狱系统新增了 2.8 万个床位；而保守党在此后长达 14 年的执政期间，仅新增了 500 个床位。

The justice secretary then confirmed that £4.7bn would be invested to build new prisons. The announcement comes ahead of the spending review and Ms Mahmood says it will allow three penitentiaries to start construction.

随后，司法大臣确认将投入 47 亿英镑用于新监狱建设。在支出审查前夕宣布这一消息时，马哈茂德女士表示，这将使三座新监狱得以顺利开工。

Ms Mahmood said last year that £2.3bn would be spent on prisons, meaning a total of £7bn has been announced by the new government. The three new prisons are the same as those announced last year, and alongside HMP Millsike which has already opened. To relieve the pressure on prisons in the interim, the government said it was going to limit recall conditions for some inmates.

马哈茂德女士去年曾表示，将在监狱方面投入 23 亿英镑。这意味着新政府已宣布在监狱建设上投入总计 70 亿英镑。这三座新监狱与去年公布的计划一致，此外，已投入使用的 HMP 米尔西克监狱也将发挥作用。为暂时缓解监狱的拥挤状况，政府表示将限制部分囚犯的召回条件。

This includes prisoners serving up to four years only being subject to recall periods of 28 days, although repeat offenders and those at higher risk will not be eligible for the limit.

具体而言，对于刑期不超过四年的囚犯，其召回期限将仅限定为 28 天；不过，惯犯和高风险囚犯将不在此限制范围内。

The plans come after the government's controversial early release scheme last year, which saw some inmates freed after serving only 40% of their sentences, rather than the usual 50%.

此前，政府于去年推行了一项备受争议的提前释放方案，部分囚犯仅服刑原定刑期的 40%（而非通常的 50%）便获释出狱。

Meanwhile, the latest weekly statistics for England and Wales showed the prison population stood at 88,087. The figure is 434 below the last peak in the prison population of 88,521 inmates on 6 September 2024 - just before the early release scheme began.

与此同时，英格兰和威尔士的最新每周监狱统计数据显示，当前在押囚犯人数为 88,087 人。这一数字比 2024 年 9 月 6 日（提前释放方案实施前不久）的 88,521 人这一峰值低了 434 人。