‘Significant increase’ in inmates sees rise in cell sharing in NI prisons

Northern Ireland prisons have a “high density” of inmates, with cell sharing at Maghaberry jail on the increase in order to deal with space issues.

Around 40% (567) of prisoners at Maghaberry share cells, a practice referred to as doubling-up.

It comes as a new report for the Council of Europe (CoE), the human rights watchdog, notes a “significant increase” of prisoners in Northern Ireland.

This is primarily driven by remanding people into custody before conviction or sentencing.

Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said members of the Prison Service have contacted him recently to raise a number of concerns.

He claimed there are “rising tensions” at Maghaberry, partly due to “low staff levels”.

The Prison Service said newly trained officers have been deployed to the jail, with a further class of recruits set to join them in two weeks’ time.

Northern Ireland’s prisoner population currently stands at 2,139, which is up by more than 200 on a year ago.

Its largest prison, Maghaberry, has 1,470 inmates, 737 (50%) of whom are being held on remand.

Last year, Maghaberry had to re-open a disused cell block to increase its capacity.

The CoE report describes Northern Ireland as having a “high prison density”.

But it did not define the situation as overcrowding – this is when there are more than 100 inmates per 100 places.

Based on data for 2023-24, it said Northern Ireland had 86 prisoners per 100 places.

A spokesperson for the Prison Service said: “Whilst challenging, the prison population in Northern Ireland has not yet exceeded available capacity, and we continue to prioritise safe, decent, and secure custody.

“The Prison Service is working with partners across the justice system to identify actions that can be taken to reduce the current population, with a particular focus on remand.

“Every day prison staff perform their challenging roles with dedication and professionalism.”