As greater numbers are jailed for sex offences and sentences lengthen, how can prisons cope?
In 424 In Sexual Now To For Are Picture: Pared Custody 2019 Violence, Inmates File There 706
The multiple rapist, aged 50, was sent back to the Midlands Prison last Friday after he was handed a cumulative 30-year sentence.
The Midlands Prison is the central committal jail for sex offenders in this country, with smaller numbers of sex offenders in Arbour Hill, Castlerea, and Mountjoy Training Unit.
Such has been the surge in sex offenders locked up in prison in recent years — in the context of a worsening overcrowding crisis in jails — that the Irish Prison Service made the decision last March to start moving a section of them into another unit.
The Progression Unit, which was the old St Patrick’s Institution for young offenders in Mountjoy, now houses 67 sex offenders.
The number of sex offenders in the unit has gone from zero in March to 36 by the end of April and to 59 on July 10.
Another eight have been added since, bringing the current total to 67. And more are set to go there.
The only other category of offences that has seen the same increase as sex offences is assaults, which includes the various types of assault, but also threats of murder and attempted murder, as well as harassment cases.
An analysis of the offence profile of prisoners reveals that while overall numbers in prison have jumped by 23% between 2019 and now, the number of inmates in for sexual violence has grown by 67%. There are now 706 such inmates in custody, compared to 424 in 2019.
Prison sources point to a combination of factors: Increased awareness and campaigns in relation to sexual violence; a greater focus by gardaí, the Policing Authority, and the justice minister on encouraging victims to come forward; and the establishment of dedicated divisional Garda units specialising in sexual, domestic, and gender-based violence.
On top of that has been an increase in court sittings and in the number of judges. One source said:
Assaults have seen a similar increase (+68%), with 693 people in jail convicted of assault, compared to 412 in 2019.
No other offence category has seen the same dramatic shift, with drugs offences the next highest, rising by 23%.
Other offences showing an increase, albeit much smaller, over the last five years are burglary (+9%), homicide (+5%), and theft (+5%).
The trend with offence profiles is reflected in the length of sentences being served in prison.
The analysis in relation to male prisoners shows a significant reduction in numbers being given a short sentence of less than a year — down 23% between 2019 and 2024.
However, it reveals a sharp increase elsewhere:
- 874 men were serving a sentence of between three and five years on June 30, 2024, compared to 617 on June 30, 2019 (+42%);
- 902 men were serving a term of five to 10 years, compared to 669 (+35%);
- 319 men were serving a sentence of more than 10 years, compared to 238 in 2019 (+34%);
- 368 men were serving a life sentence, compared to 349 (+5%).
The number of female prisoners is far lower than male inmates, with 3,803 sentenced males at the end of June, compared to 193 females, although over the last five years, the growth in female prisoner numbers is three times that of men.
While based on small numbers, the trends show increases across all lengths of sentences for female prisoners, including a 129% jump among women given sentences of between one and three years and a 28% rise in those serving between three and 10 years.
The above trends have driven significant increases in both the number of prisoners in custody and the length of sentences being served in prison — both contributing to the overcrowding crisis.
The other main driver is the massive increase in remand — those who are charged and awaiting trial.
In the last five years, remand numbers have gone from 658 to 943 (+43%). In addition, the length of time people are held on remand has increased.
As of last Thursday, there are 5,054 people in Irish jails, which have an official maximum capacity of 4,514.
Separate to those figures, 547 people were on temporary release, compared to 315 five years ago.
It is not just a record overcrowding crisis and growing numbers of sex offenders that the prison system is having to deal with, but also the extent to which overcrowding is undermining the good work that was being done among prisoners engaging with rehabilitation, who were benefitting from enhanced regimes and preparing for reintegration into society. Many of them were in the Progression Unit, which has capacity for 206 people and is full.
There are now 67 sex offenders in it, meaning that 67 people had to be moved to other prisons in order to make room, disturbing their reintegration.
The Irish Prison Service has said “further movements” of sex offenders into the unit are expected, meaning more will be transferred, again disrupting their rehabilitation and re-entry to society.
Prison sources stress that they have little choice and —against a backdrop of general political and public disinterest — they do not expect the situation to get better soon.