Keeping the Lid on the Prison Remand Population: The Experience in England and Wales

Abstract

At a time when a number of countries including Australia and Canada have experienced increases in their prison remand populations it has remained stable in England and Wales. The situation in England and Wales creates an intriguing paradox. Significant changes have been made to the law on bail, tightening up the grant of bail especially for certain groups of defendants. These legal changes might have been expected to result in an increasing prison remand population. Yet, this has not happened. This article seeks to understand the factors that may have contributed to the containment of the prison remand population in England and Wales. In doing so, it examines the drivers present in England and Wales which have resulted in its remand population stabilising at the beginning of the 21st century.