Ageing prison population

Ageing prison population The number of prisoners over the age of 60 has risen between 2002 and 2020 from 1,511 to 5,176 – an increase of more than 240 per cent. A large proportion of older prisoners have distinct health and social care needs. Prisoners tend to have worse health than the wider community – 85 per cent of prisoners over the age of 60 have some form of major illness. The Justice Committee report reaffirms the call of a previous Justice Committee for the government to produce a national strategy for older prisoners. House of Commons Justice Committee