UK: Historic abuse cases fuel rise in prison population

Stuart Hall, Max Clifford and Rolf Harris are among figures to be jailed in recent months

The number of sex attackers behind bars has doubled in only a decade – with eight jails now containing no other type of inmate.

The huge increase has in part been fuelled by convictions in historic abuse cases.

In recent months, high-profile figures – including Stuart Hall, Max Clifford and Rolf Harris – have been imprisoned for crimes dating back decades.

Prison officials have had to set up a string of new programmes to cope with the explosion in the sex offender population – which now stands at 11,150.

It is the equivalent of one in every eight inmates and has leapt by 650 in the past year alone.

A total of eight jails have been converted or opened that are exclusively for paedophiles, rapists and other sex offenders.  (more...)

UK: Historic abuse cases fuel rise in prison population