KEY POINTS

• UK prisons face several challenges, including a rising prisoner population and reports of understaffing, overcrowded facilities, and inadequate services.

• In light of these problems, experts are calling for penal reform and placing stronger emphasis on rehabilitation and resocialisation principles.

• Rehabilitation is already a core purpose of the UK prison system, but it appears to be falling short of its own standards.

• According to inspectors, the majority of prisoners lack work and training opportunities.

• 53% of prisoners are in their cell for more than 22 hours a day – rising to 69% during weekends.

• Only 35% of those with metal health issues receive help, while 32% finish addiction treatment programmes in prisons and secure settings.

• Reoffending – 39% within the first year of release and 75% within nine years – amounts to £18.1 billion in economic and social costs every year.

Other countries can help provide valuable insights into improvingincarceration and rehabilitation in prisons.

• The Norwegian approach actively encourages inmates to lead a fulfilling life after their time in prison, and reforms have led to a dramatic decrease in reoffending rates.

• The Netherlands offers specialist mental health treatment and has allocated greater prison resources to rehabilitation. Changes in the justice system have led to less reoffending, a significantly smaller prison population, and fewer prisons.

• Other potential measures deployed internationally include greater use of non-custodial sanctions, rehabilitation training for prison staff, and restorative justice practices.