Ministers weigh security upgrades at Category C and women’s prisons to avert early releases
Officials are assessing the feasibility of diverting male remand and short-term prisoners from Category B reception jails to alternative sites, provided security measures are enhanced.
Ministers in England and Wales are examining a proposal to upgrade security at men’s Category C and women’s prisons to accommodate male prisoners serving short sentences or held on remand. The initiative aims to alleviate severe overcrowding in Category B reception prisons, following intense pressure on the government to prevent the early release of serious offenders, including those convicted of killing PC Andrew Harper.
Justice Secretary Andy Burnham has directed Justice Minister Alex Norris to deliver a plan to free up space in the prison estate. Burnham stated he is “increasingly confident” that the killers of PC Harper will not be released early, emphasising that he is “turning over every stone” to lessen the anguish of the victim’s family. The Prime Minister echoed this sentiment, confirming the government is pushing the system to do more to ensure public safety.
The current strategy involves diverting prisoners from Category B “reception” prisons, such as HMPs Liverpool, Manchester, and Pentonville, to alternative sites. Officials are assessing the feasibility of holding male prisoners in men’s training prisons or repurposed, emptied women’s jails, provided that security measures are significantly enhanced. Category B local prisons, which are often Victorian-era facilities, are severely overcrowded and hold approximately one-fifth of the total prison population, a figure rising due to court backlogs.
Category C prisons currently house about half of the 86,000 prisoners in England and Wales. These facilities specialise in preparing offenders for work and resettlement, holding individuals assessed as low to moderate security risks who do not face high-security measures like razor wire. Ministers have been advised that any transfer of prisoners from Category B to Category C or women’s prisons requires a substantial security upgrade, as the latter currently operate with fewer body scans and searches.
The proposal has drawn criticism from prison officers and penal reform experts regarding its timeline and potential impact on rehabilitation standards. Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the Prison Officers Association, argued that upgrading security is a long-drawn-out process that will not ease the immediate crisis. Andrew Neilson of the Howard League for Penal Reform warned that the plan could erode the distinction between prison categories, suggesting the government might be accepting a lack of room for rehabilitation.
In a separate development, the Estonian government has rejected a proposal by the Conservatives and Reform UK to rent jail cells in the UK. Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta confirmed that Estonia would not rent cells to other countries while housing criminals from Sweden in its half-empty Tartu prison under a bilateral deal. Talks between the Keir Starmer government and Estonia over a similar arrangement in 2024 also came to nothing.
