Britain's jails are at breaking point and left vulnerable to riots due to ... trends now
Britain's overcrowded, understaffed and crumbling jails are vulnerable to riots, a former chief inspector of prisons warned today.
Nick Hardwick warned 'we are very close to the conditions prior to the 1990s Strangeways riots' and said the 'general level of frustration' was so high that it only required a 'spark' for a serious incident.
The Strangeways riot began on April 1, 1990 and lasted for 25 days, with inmates trashing the jail and sitting on the roof to protest about poor conditions. One prisoner died and 147 officers injured, while rioters caused £133million of damage.
Mr Hardwick said the present state of UK jails, with prisoners locked in their cells for '20 hours-plus a day' and 'great levels of violence', was the background to recent incidents such as the escape of Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth last year.
The Strangeways riot began on April 1, 1990 and lasted for 25 days, with inmates trashing the jail and sitting on the roof to protest about poor conditions
O ne prisoner died and 147 officers injured, while rioters caused £133million of damage
He told The Times: 'I was in Wandsworth a bit before the escape and it was obvious that it was going to happen. They just didn't have the staff to run it.
'I'm very used to going into prisons and I thought, ''This is just not a safe place.'' It was out of control. I'm not surprised that someone manages to evade security and get out.'
The prison population has risen by 93 per cent over the last three decades to 87,000, and last month there were just 500 prison places available in England and Wales.
In response, the government has enacted emergency measures, such as releasing offenders 60 days early and delaying sentencing hearings.
The overall number of operational prison officers
