§ 24. Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners there are per 100,000 of the population in(a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Germany and (d) the Netherlands; and if he will make a statement. [126142]
§ Mr. BoatengThe available information is given in the table. It should be noted, however, that comparisons between penal statistics from different countries may be misleading due to differences in criminal justice systems, 381W the types of sanctions available to the judicial authorities and the length of prison sentences imposed by the courts and served by offenders.
International prison population comparisons: rate per 100,000 population in 1999 Country Rate1 per 100,000 population in 1999 United Kingdom 123 England and Wales2 125 Scotland3 118 Northern Ireland 69 France 89 Germany4 95 Netherlands 75 1 Based on estimates of national populations 2 At 31 August 3 Average daily population 4 1998 figures