LOCKED up Brits were moved into new portable jail cells for the first time today.
Over 45 “rapid deployment cells” were formally opened at HMP Norwich while the prison’s Victorian wing undergoes a £38 million makeover.
New portable prison units are now up and running in England
The interior of a new porta-cell in HMP Norwich
The new units are the first of 1,000 to be built across 18 prisons in England.
It comes as facilities struggle to cope with the masses of lags being sentenced to jail.
The Ministry of Justice says it’s invested £4 billion to boost the number of prison spaces by 20,000.
But for now hundreds of criminals will be held in porta-cells.
The units have a lifespan of 15 years and are designed to stop cells in police stations being used to house burglars, sex offenders and other cons.
Last month there were 83,687 offenders in prisons — which are running at 98.6% capacity.
Minister for Prisons and Probation Damian Hinds said:
“Prison cells protect the public by making sure we have enough space to put dangerous offenders behind bars – that’s why we’re investing £4 billion to deliver
20,000 extra places.
“We’re rolling out a thousand Rapid Deployment Cells to create extra spaces quickly while we press ahead with the biggest expansion of prisons in over a century – building six new jails and creating thousands of additional cells by
renovating and expanding existing sites.”
He added: “The first rapid cells at HMP Norwich are already boosting capacity while our multi-million-pound renovation of the Elizabeth Fry wing will create long-term places to protect the public.”
