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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent

Magistrates in England not following law on remand decisions, charity finds

A Cell Block in Wandsworth Prison. Wandsworth Prison is one of the largest prisons in the UK.
The population of remand prisoners in England is at a record high, putting huge pressure on prisons. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Guardian

Magistrates are not following the law when sending thousands of people to jail on remand, exacerbating the prison overcrowding crisis in England, a report suggests.

The remand population is at a record high, with one in five people who are in jail awaiting trial or sentencing, up from one in nine in 2019. Police cells are being used to hold prisoners, and the government plans to rent cells overseas because of the lack of capacity.

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