Inmates don't want to leave Britain's 'cushy' jails - figures

Thousands of criminals have passed up the chance for early release from British jails, and dozens of drug dealers have been caught trying to break in.

Figures released by the Justice Ministry show almost 40,000 inmates have opted out of the early release tagging scheme since it was introduced in 2000, Britain's Daily Mail reports.

The country is struggling with chronic overcrowding in its jails, and eight years ago introduced a home detention scheme where criminals such as drug dealers and burglars can be freed up to 18 weeks early if they wear an electronic tag, and adhere to a curfew.

But the Justice Ministry data showed the scheme had been widely rejected, the Daily Mail report said.

The news report also said more than 40 people had been caught inside prisons or trying to enter by scaling walls, apparently to sell drugs to inmates, during the past five years.

The release of the figures came after the Prison Officers Association recently claimed many inmates did not want to leave jail because life inside was cushy, and drugs were cheaper than on the outside.

The association's Assistant General Secretary Glyn Travis claimed that at a jail in East Yorkshire, a drug dealer was caught breaking in at night to pass drugs to inmates through cell windows, and even sold women's clothing to a transvestite prisoner.

At another jail, staff reported seeing women, thought to be prostitutes, leaving the prison in the mornings.

A Justice Ministry spokesman rejected claims that inmates wanted to stay in jail.

"Prison is anything but soft and it is absurd to suggest otherwise,'' the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

The Justice Ministry also defended the take-up of the early release scheme, suggesting some inmates may not have had a suitable home address, or may have believed they would not pass the necessary risk assessment tests.

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