In October 2007, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Anne Owers CBE, concluded in her review of mental health in prisons that “prison has become, to far too large an extent, the default setting for those with a wide range of mental and emotional disorders.” Some mental health experts believe that the under-resourcing of health reforms in the late 80s and early 90s has contributed to the rapid rise in prison numbers. The prison population in England and Wales has soared from just under 45,000 in 1990 to almost 82,000 today.

The impact this has on people with mental health problems and their families is often overlooked.  Many families find it difficult to support and to maintain contact with relatives as they are moved on from one overcrowded prison to the next. Those families able to stay in touch often feel helpless and very distressed as they watch family members struggle to cope with the dual problems of mental illness and imprisonment.

Many people working within the criminal justice system have called for better arrangements and adequate resources to enable mentally ill offenders to receive the treatment they need in health settings.  The inappropriate imprisonment of people who are mentally ill also pushes a duty of care onto under-resourced prison staff and managers – this is an issue often raised by the Prison Governors’ Association and the Prison Officers’ Association.