HC Deb 30 March 1990 vol 170 c372W
Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current ratio of prison officers to prisoners.

Mr. Mellor

On 1 March there were 20,360 officers (including senior and principal officers) in post in establishments and the national inmate population was 46,984, giving an overall ratio of 2.3 inmates per officer. The ratio of inmates to officers varies considerably between the different types of establishment.