Courts are failing to follow “basic legal steps” when deciding to deny bail to suspects awaiting trial, a new investigation suggests – as the record-high remand population fuels overcrowding in full-to-bursting prisons.
More than 16,000 people were on remand in prison as of 30 September, up from 9,600 just four years ago – with many held in harrowing conditions in some of the country’s most overcrowded jails. In 2022, more than a third of all self-inflicted deaths in prisons were among those on remand.
