Male prisons across England and Wales currently have fewer than 1,800 available spaces, representing the lowest number recorded since March. More than 83,000 spaces are occupied by male inmates.
This reduction in available capacity comes despite the government's introduction of a presumption against jailing individuals for less than one year, a measure intended to create more room. Prison staff have indicated that a high number of offenders being recalled to prison for breaching licence conditions or re-offending has negated much of the additional space.
A downward trend in the number of vacant spaces has been observed since June. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) stated it is constructing more prisons, exploring early release options, and expanding electronic tagging.
The figures emerge ahead of a government plan to release approximately 5,000 inmates early from October to ease overcrowding. Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently made more prisoners exempt from this scheme following public backlash.