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Prison health care and the extent of prison overcrowding

Roy Warmsley (International Centre for Prison Studies, King’s College, London, London, UK)

International Journal of Prisoner Health

ISSN: 1744-9200

Article publication date: 1 January 2005

1710

Abstract

Overcrowding in prisons has a negative impact on health care and consequently the international standards insist that accommodation for prisoners must include sufficient space. Despite this, the article shows that overcrowded prison systems, defined as those holding more prisoners than they are intended to accommodate, are to be found in every part of the world; indeed, almost 70% are overcrowded, and many others are overcrowded in some prisons. Moreover, overcrowding is not just widespread; it is often severe, with many prison systems having levels of occupancy that far exceed the official capacity. Furthermore, the official capacities of prisons often allow insufficient space per prisoner, so that there is in fact overcrowding even in prison systems where the prison population is lower than the officially stated capacity. Again, prison populations continue to rise, often without parallel increases in the space available. It is suggested that attempts to improve prison health should include strategies to reduce prison populations and eliminate overcrowding.

Keywords

Citation

Warmsley, R. (2005), "Prison health care and the extent of prison overcrowding", International Journal of Prisoner Health, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449200500156897

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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