Jersey's jail no longer jam-packed - but why?

Monday 01 August 2016

Prison Governor Bill Millar has revealed that inmate numbers are down at La Moye, which is currently only about three-quarters full.

La Moye has a maximum occupation of 200 inmates, which costs taxpayers £10.5million a year.

At the moment, says Mr Millar, there are 146 people incarcerated in jail, meaning the prison is almost exactly three-quarters full.

“That was different for my first five years here,” said Mr Millar. “We were regularly up to the 185-200 mark. It has always fluctuated since my time here, but in the last two years it has really started to become regularly lower.

“There are a number of reasons for this. There have been changes in the law, especially with regard to repatriation of offenders. We now have a higher number of inmates returning to the UK to serve out their sentences.”

Mr Millar said the profile of offenders has also changed in recent years.

“We are certainly seeing a difference when it comes to drug offending as the figures are showing we are getting more and more offences towards prescribed drugs and legal highs. These do not as a rule carry custodial sentences as high as the high-end drug offenders. So instead of a drug offender serving say five to ten years, taking up cell space for a long time, we are getting drug offenders serving smaller sentences. In a nutshell, long term offenders are being replaced by those with maybe a year or two in jail.

“Jersey also has traditionally a low tolerance for serious drugs offenders and that may put them off as well. They know if they get caught they are looking at very long sentences.”

Mr Millar said there are fewer young offenders being held at La Moye - an indication that education into the consequences of crime is making a difference.

“I think so,” he said. “We are getting very few young offenders nowadays and I hope that trend continues. I believe it is a sign that the initiatives started some years ago to keep young offenders out of the prison system are having an effect. The numbers have dropped dramatically.”

Another area where Mr Millar has seen notable changes is in the profile of prisoners amongst females.

“When I began in 2008 every single female inmate was in prison for drugs offences, in particular drug trafficking. The has also changed dramatically. The prison population now amongst females is more ‘normal,’ more local crime, things like thefts and relatively low level offences. We have still got drug traffickers, ‘mules’ for their male criminals, but again, that number is decreasing significantly.”

Mr Millar says the fact that prison numbers are declining is a source of pride in the system.

“All the authorities do so much work to address offending and I believe it is having an impact on numbers and the type of offences people are committing. 

“We are definitely seeing a shift in prisoner profiles, but it is also true that around 70% of inmates are incarcerated for drug-related offences. That could be something like theft in order to fund a drug habit, but it is still drug-related. That 70% is still a high figure.”