RECORD numbers of older prisoners are currently behind bars at HMP Risley, new figures have revealed.

Statistics from the Ministry of Justice showed that 77 inmates aged 60 or above were incarcerated at Risley prison at the end of September, 8.2 per cent of the jail’s population of 936.

That was an increase of 7.9 per cent on the previous year and the highest proportion since records began in 2015.

Across England and Wales, this figure stood at 6.2 per cent.

The MOJ said that the ageing prison population has been driven by recent increases in the number of prosecutions for historic sexual offences.

Meanwhile, five prisoners at the Warrington Road facility died during the 12 months leading up to September 2021 – the same number as in the previous year.

Since comparable records began in 2000, the prison has recorded 57 deaths in total.

No inmates at HMP Thorn Cross in Appleton died during the same period, with only one having passed away at the open prison since the turn of the century.

Warrington Guardian:

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: "Our population is ageing, and so inevitably this is being reflected in the numbers of older people living, and dying, in prison.

"It is important that prison staff are trained to understand the needs of older people and have access to resources and support so they can meet them."

The Howard League for Penal Reform says that older prisoners are most at risk from Covid-19 and that reversing the ageing prison population would save lives.

Chief executive Frances Crook added: "Prisons have largely been forgotten during the pandemic, but the rising number of people who have died reveals the devastation that Covid-19 has brought to those living and working behind bars and their families.

"Tens of thousands of people have been held in overcrowded conditions or solitary confinement for months on end.

"It is almost impossible to fathom the mental distress that this will have caused.”

Ms Cook also called for the deaths of people in the criminal justice system to be included in the inquiry into the Government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

An MOJ spokesman added: “During the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic, our decisive action saved thousands of lives and limited transmission in a uniquely challenging environment.”