Latest prison statistics

Total number of prisoners – 78,830 – as at end September 2021

Number of OPVs – 539 as at September 2020 – number is subject to change when the pandemic subsides: some will have retired and others are waiting to be appointed.

There is little significant change to report year on year with male and female prisoners accounting for 95.9% and 4.1% respectively of the total prison population.

Number of prisons – 118 in England and Wales; of these, 104 are run by HMPPS, while three private companies operate 14: Serco and Sodexo manage 5 each and G4S manages 4