Prison population dashboard

Population counts people. Usable operational capacity describes the places available for use under the source definition. They refer to an observation date, not an average over the week. A change between publications does not explain what caused that change.

Earlier publications report male and female estates. Later publications separate the adult male estate, female estate and Youth Custody Service. The two male series use different definitions and are shown separately. Blank periods do not mean the population was zero.

The full available weekly history is included. Some publication dates are missing from the source. A date marked “Pending review” has been withheld while it is checked. It stays in the date selector and table, with a gap in the chart. A percentage change uses the earlier selected figure as its baseline.

These figures cover England and Wales. Weekly publications do not supply remand, sentenced or recall breakdowns. Only measures present in verified records are offered. Data downloads contain the chosen measure, dates, status and source link; pending figures are left blank.

The monthly table shows raw operational capacity for each prison. The published national total subtracts the operating margin and is shown as usable operational capacity. The national raw operational capacity is the sum of the prison values. These two national figures are different measures.

Certified normal accommodation (CNA) describes accommodation to an uncrowded standard. Baseline CNA is the baseline accommodation capacity. In-use CNA excludes places not immediately available, for example because of damaged cells or building work. Neither is the same as operational capacity. A monthly release is a dated snapshot, not a monthly average.