Record levels of foreign inmates in British jails

The number of foreign nationals held in British prisons has reached record levels and costs a staggering £127m a year, according to a new survey by the National Association of Probation Officers (Napo).

The number of foreign nationals held in British prisons has reached record levels and costs a staggering £127m a year, according to a new survey by the National Association of Probation Officers (Napo).

The survey found there are now 5,311 foreign prisoners in British jails, making up nearly 8 per cent of Britain's 65,614 prisoners. People from Jamaica, the Irish Republic, Pakistan and Holland top the league of foreign inmates.

The survey, based on Prison Service figures for the end of September, reveals that the number of foreign prisoners has risen by 647 since November 1997, accounting for almost one-third of the increase in prisoners in the period.

About 4,000 are serving sentences, with the rest on remand or awaiting immigration decisions. Five hundred of the inmates are female.

Of the foreigners held, 2,033 came from Europe, 904 from Africa, 864 from Asia,120 from the Middle East and 1,005 from the West Indies. The figures compare with the estimated 2,350 Britons held in foreign prisons. Spain has the highest number of jailed Britons, followed by France and then the United States.

It costs an average £24,000 a year to keep each prisoner in a British jail, and for inmates serving long sentences for violence or drugs offences, the costs may go on for 10 years.

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of Napo, called yesterday for the Home Office to re-examine its repatriation agreements with other countries. "The plight of foreign prisoners in British jails is more acute than ever," Mr Fletcher said. "The big rise since November 1997, when Napo last studied this issue, is very worrying indeed."

He pointed out that these prisoners were not eligible for early release on the home detention curfew scheme, better known as tagging.

Mr Fletcher said foreign nationals are severely disadvantaged in British jails. "Often the legal advice is poor quality, in most cases there is no court report, after sentence this group is isolated, they do not have access to regular support systems, there is often ignorance of the deportation procedure and there can be discriminatory treatment," he said.

Of 1,000 foreign prisoners eligible for repatriation last year, 200 applied and just 41 left. They can be returned if Britain has an agreement with the prisoner's home country for such transfers, but only if they apply for a move. Hundreds of foreign prisoners are eligible to be returned to their home countries to serve their sentences.

Mr Fletcher said: "In 1997 just 17 prisoners were transferred. Last year the situation improved to 41, but the increase was predominately accounted for by Irish prisoners moved because of the Good Friday Agreement."

He said more effort should be made to produce court reports on foreign defendants before they were sentenced, the services offered to them should be improved, repatriation and deportation at the end of their sentences should be swifter, and they should be given more educational and training courses in prison.

A Prison Service spokesman said inmates had to be eligible for transfer and want to be transferred. "We have repatriated more people in the last year," he said. "While we try to facilitate these transfers, there are regulations in place." Britain has prisoner transfer agreements with 48 countries, but he saidthe country had to be prepared for the offender to serve out the sentence.

In 1986 the number of foreign nationals serving sentences in British jails was just 2,793. The rise over the past 13 years is largely explained by an increase in the number of people jailed for drug-related offences. A substantial proportion of these are women, many of whom are used as "mules" to smuggle drugs into Europe.

The Female Prisoners Welfare Project said drug cartels use dozens of couriers because for every one that gets caught, five get through Customs. The cartels use young and middle-aged women as couriers. Many arrive in Britain without their families, expecting to be in the country for just a few days.

Where inmates come from

Men             Women   Total Jamaica           527     139             666 Irish Republic      542      25             567 Pakistan            256       8             264 Netherlands         134              30             164 India                       152       7     159 Hong Kong           152       0             152 Turkey                      142       4             146  Nigeria            111      18             129 Ghana                        89              16             105 Germany              78               8              86 Bangladesh           82               0              82 Italy                        81               1              82