§ 55. Mr. Haleasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state for the 12 months to the most recent convenient date the extent to which, by comparison with 1938, the increased prison population is due to increased length of sentences.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerNo precise statement is possible about the extent to which the increased prison population results from any single cause. A statistical investigation published in the Report of the Prison Commissioners for 1955 showed that the two significant factors in the increase were, in order of importance, the increased number of convictions and the increased average length of sentence imposed by the higher courts.