British prisons have been told to brace themselves for the arrival of more criminals.
The UK’s Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, said “that’s what the public want”.
Latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show the prison population in England and Wales reached 85,410, an increase of 182 in one week and more than 1,700 in a year.
The male prison population is 81,478 and females number 3,932.
The Prison Officers Association claimed the system was “truly in crisis”.
Forty prisons in England and Wales have been ordered to take scores of additional inmates despite overcrowding concerns.
England and Wales have one of the highest rates of imprisonment in Western Europe, with Scotland not far behind.
But Mr Grayling said: “I make no apology that we are sending more criminals to prison - that’s what the public want. I’m just taking sensible steps to make sure we can accommodate everyone the court sends to us.
“We have had a small increase in prison population in last few months. And as a result, we’ve opened up some of our reserve capacity.
“To do this we are planning to take on a number of former prison officers, up to 100, on short term contracts.”
He added that 2,000 additional adult male prison places are due to open over next nine months.
