Chris Tilbury is right to draw readers’ attention to the parlous state of the prison system (“I predict a riot,” January). There can be no doubt that prisons—and probation—in England and Wales are in the sorriest state we have seen in several decades.
Prisons are rivers of crime, and throwing more and more people into them has created a wave of misery and despair for prisoners and staff. This is seen in the high number of men and women who have lost their lives through suicide, record levels of violence and self-injury, and the high rate of staff turnover.