Our thanks to Stu for this. He writes:

Hi Mike,

Another outstandingly timed BBC 1am post.

Do you think these cells are for all the female offenders who will be sentenced properly in future? Of course not, they are so the ones already there can each have a cell of their own with a shower.

The start of the piece:

Up to 500 new prison cells are to be built in women’s jails, the Ministry of Justice has announced.

These will be built in existing women’s prisons to increase the number of single cells available and improve conditions.

They will include in-cell showers, and some will enable women to have overnight visits with their children to prepare for life at home after release.

In future, older cells could also be shut if the prison population reduces.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has also pledged almost £2m in funding to 38 charities so their “vital work in steering women away from crime can continue”.

This may include addressing mental health problems and drug use, both of which affect around half of women in prison. [J4MB: It’s a good think men in prison don’t suffer these problems…]

In the meantime, while women are getting in-cell showers, two men share cells designed for one, particularly in men’s Victorian prisons, and have nothing but a metal pail for their urine and faeces. Men are treated worse than animals. Is it any wonder the recidivism rate is so high?

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