Meeting the need of older prisoners

In recent years, the population of older prisoners has increased dramatically and concerns have been expressed that the National Offender Management Service is ill-equipped to deal with an ageing prison population. Although HM Inspectorate of Prisons and others have found some instances of good practice, concerns remain that the physical fabric of prisons, their regimes, their provisions for health and healthcare and arrangements for release and post-release care are geared towards the young and the able-bodied and do not adequately meet the needs of older prisoners.

This note discusses some of the issues raised by the growing number of older offenders in prison in England and Wales, such as the availability (or not) of suitable accommodation for those with mobility problems and the involvement (or not) of social care agencies in providing appropriate care and services.