Section one Context The situation in detention during the year Prisons Prisons remain a key area of concern for NPM members, with a range of persistent issues identified over the reporting period, including poor safety and high levels of selfharm. In England and Wales, the population across the prison estate on 27 March 2020 was 83,189, up 546 from 2019. Within the population, MoJ reports that 79,548 prisoners were male and 3,641 were female.108 The population also rose in Scotland during 2019, with monthly averages for the reporting period consistently above 8,000 and at one point over 8,300, before falling at the end of March 2020 as court activity slowed in line with COVID-19-related restrictions.109 In Northern Ireland, in the week ending 20 March 2020 the total population had risen by 136 from the previous year to 1,593, of whom 88 were female.110 According to analysis of data by the World Prison Brief, Northern Ireland has the lowest rate of imprisonment in the UK. England and Wales jointly have the third highest prison population on the continent of Europe, and the 20th highest rate of imprisonment (with Scotland the 21st highest).111 In November 2019, a report on the safety of prisoners held by the Northern Ireland Prison Service was published by RQIA and CJINI. RQIA and CJINI inspectors noted progress in the management of vulnerable prisoners with the piloting of a new strategy specifically designed to address their needs. However, inspectors also stated that further work was needed to respond to the quantity and availability of drugs in prisons in Northern Ireland, with the publication of a new strategy on this considered positive. Bullying also remained a significant issue.112 In this joint inspection report, the Chief Inspector of CJINI expressed frustration at repeating key recommendations made in 2014. Inspectors remained concerned that prisons did not provide the therapeutic environment required for people with complex needs and recommended courts be made aware of these limitations when committing people to prison for mental health assessments. RQIA and CJINI called for much closer working between the prison service and local health and social care trusts on the joint delivery of the strategies on suicide and self-harm and the management of substance abuse, which are crucial to prisoner safety. The report also called for the implementation of inspection and Death in Custody report recommendations, and the delivery of safer custody at establishment level. 108 MoJ, March 2020, Population bulletin: weekly 27 March 2020, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/ uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/876296/prison-pop-27-mar-2020.ods [accessed 24/08/2020] 109 Scottish Parliament, March 2020, Scotland’s Prison Population to Feb 2020, https://sp-bpr-en-prod-cdnep.azureedge.net/ published/2020/3/9/Scotland-s-prison-population-to-Feb-2020/SB%2020-21i.pdf [accessed 24/08/2020] 110 NI Department of Justice (webpage), Weekly Situation Reports 2019/2020, https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/articles/weeklysituation-reports-october-2015#toc-22 [accessed 24/08/2020] 111 World Prison Brief (webpage), World Prison Brief Data, https://www.prisonstudies.org/world-prison-brief-data [accessed 24/08/2020] 112 CJINI, November 2019, The Safety Of Prisoners Held by the Northern Ireland Prison Service: A joint inspection by CJINI and RQIA, http://www.cjini.org/getattachment/3a70dd41-7bb3-430d-9901-3ed7a191cf94/The-Safety-of-Prisoners.aspx [accessed 24/08/2020] 37