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Great Britian: Number of babies born in prison soars

By Real Cost of Prisons Project (The Sentencing Project)

Number of babies born in prison soars By Ben Russell, home affairs correspondent Monday, 27 October 2008 The Independent (UK) The number of children born behind bars has almost doubled since Labour came to power, with new figures showing women prisoners currently giving birth at nearly four a week. Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that 283 children were born in prisons in England and Wales between April 2005 and July this year, an average of 1.7 a week. But 49 babies were born between April and the beginning of July this year alone, almost four a week, meaning the 2008 total could reach nearly 200 if births continue at the same rate, more than double the 64 prison births recorded in 1995-96 before Labour came to power. Prison reformers demanded that women should be locked up only in extreme circumstances, saying that keeping mothers and young babies in prison can harm young children and does nothing to cut crime...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog on October 26, 2008 (boomark / email).