MANAGING the physical, mental health and social care needs of ageing prisoners is vital to improve the UK's prison service, say North-East criminologists.
Ten per cent of the UK's prison population is over the age of 50 and the over 60s are the fastest increasing group within the prison estate - with this group growing by 128 per cent in one decade.
However, Louise Ridley and Charlotte Bilby, senior lecturers in criminology at Northumbria University, argue, in a paper submitted to the Ministry of Justice Select Committee on older prisoners, that the way prisons - designed to hold young and fit prisoners - deal with the issues faced by older men and women is sorely lacking in the majority of prisons.
The academics have worked with professionals in HM Prison Service North East, the National Offender Management Service and associated professionals from healthcare and elder care organisations to gather data and information about the requirements for rehabilitating ageing prisoners.
The work has identified that there is an overwhelming need for a national strategy.
The findings have been submitted to and published by the Ministry of Justice and will be used to inform a national response to the needs of older prisoners.
Ms Ridley said: "The prison population in England and Wales is not only increasing, but it is ageing. Increased use of life sentences and the creation of indeterminate sentences mean that the number of older prisoners is growing."
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