ABSTRACT
On April 30,1996, there were 53,974 males and females confined in the 133 prisons in England and Wales. This latest expansion in the numbers detained in the country's prisons had begun in the early 1990s and was propelled forward by a combination of three factors:
the significant rise in the proportionate use of custody by the courts, the increase in the length of sentences passed by judges and magistrates and the increasing length of time served by those on remand and in the sentenced population. This trend is expected to continue into the 21st century. By the year 2004, the average daily prison population is projected to increase to 59,900. The correspond ing figures for 1994 and 1984 were 48,800 and 43,300 respectively (Home Office, 1996, Table 4).
