Offender management statistics quarterly: January to March 2026

Question 1

1. Population

Accepted Answer

The prison population was 85,858 on 30 June 2026.

The sentenced prison population stood at 70,003 (82% of the total); the remand prison population stood at 15,386 (18%) and the non-criminal prison population stood at 469 (1%).

Figure 1: Prison population, June 2016 to June 2026

Chart description text

Line chart showing a time series (June 2016 to June 2026) of the total prison population (including non-criminal), and subsets showing the sentenced and remand populations.

The sentenced population trends quite closely with the total prison population. In June 2016 the total population was around 85,000, including around 74,000 sentenced prisoners and 9,000 prisoners on remand. Between 2016 and early 2020 the total and sentenced populations remained relatively stable overall, although both declined gradually. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, both populations fell sharply before increasing from 2022 until 2024, since when they have fluctuated but remained at similar levels overall. By June 2026, the total prison population stood at around 86,000 and the sentenced population at around 70,000.

Between 2016 and early 2020, the remand population remained broadly stable at around 9,000 to 10,000, before increasing during the pandemic to around 13,000 by June 2022. It continued to rise thereafter, peaking at around 18,000 in mid-2025, before falling back to around 15,000 in June 2026.

The data for June 2025 to June 2026 is included in table 1_Q_1 of the Quarterly Prison Population tables of this publication. The earlier data, going back to June 2016, is included in table 1_A_1 of the Annual Prison Population tables, also part of this publication.

Remand prison population

The 30 June 2026 remand population figure of 15,386 was 13% lower than in June 2025. This downward trend began in September 2025, reversing the sustained growth trend in the remand population that had been observed since 2020.

The untried remand population and the convicted unsentenced remand population both fell when compared with the end of June 2025, to 10,242 (down 12%) and 5,144 (down 15%), respectively. These are likely to be partly driven by increased Crown Court capacity, including more sitting days ^{[footnote 4]} (from December 2024), and by the expansion of Magistrates’ Sentencing Powers ^{[footnote 5]} (from November 2024), which allows more cases to be dealt with in the magistrates’ courts rather than being sent to the Crown Court. Together, these measures help reduce delays and case backlogs, resulting in fewer defendants on remand.

The two largest offence groups for those held on remand were ‘violence against the person’ (44% of the untried population and 29% of the convicted unsentenced population) and ‘drug offences’ (8% and 17% respectively).

While White prisoners accounted for 73% of the sentenced population, they represented only 64% of the remand population. By contrast, all other reported ethnic groups had a higher proportional representation in the remand population than in the sentenced population.

Sentenced prison population

The sentenced population was 70,003, which is a 1% increase from the same point 12 months earlier. This was largely driven by increases in the population serving determinate sentences of two years or more, particularly those serving sentences of 2 years to less than 4 years (up 10%), 4 years to less than 5 years (up 11%), and 5 years to less than 7 years (up 7%), together with Extended Determinate Sentences.

By contrast, the populations serving the shortest sentences fell, with those serving sentences of six months or less falling by 22% and those serving more than six months but less than 12 months falling by 16%.

Around 7 in 10 prisoners serving an immediate custodial sentence had been convicted of a violence against the person offence (34%), sexual offence (23%) or drug offence (12%). While the population serving immediate custodial sentences for violence against the person was virtually unchanged compared to last year, there was a 5% increase in the number of sentenced ‘sexual offence’ prisoners, and the population serving an immediate custodial sentence for drug offences decreased by 4% over the same period. The population serving immediate custodial sentences for public order offences has increased markedly, rising by 96% compared with June 2024 and 16% compared with June 2025, likely reflecting the impact of the disorder that occurred during the summer of 2024.

Extended Determinate Sentences (EDS)

EDS constitute a custodial term, the majority of which is served in prison, followed by an extended period on licence in the community. They may be imposed on offenders convicted of, or previously convicted of, specific sexual, violent, or terrorist offences. On 30 June 2026, 9,697 prisoners were serving such sentences. This represented a 7% increase since June 2025. Prisoners serving EDS accounted for just over 11% of the total prison population.

Indeterminate sentences

On 30 June 2026, there were 8,473 (8,109 male; 364 female) ‘unreleased’ prisoners serving indeterminate sentences (Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) and life sentences). This was virtually unchanged (0.2% decrease) compared with 30 June 2025.

The number of ‘unreleased’ prisoners serving life sentences (7,617) increased by 1% compared with a year earlier, while the number of ‘unreleased’ IPP prisoners fell by 12% to 856. At point of sentencing, offenders are given a minimum time period (“tariff”) that they must serve in prison before they can apply to the Parole Board for release. Around 8 in 10 of the ‘unreleased’ IPP prisoners who had served their minimum tariff period had been held for at least ten years beyond the end of their tariff.

The number of ‘recalled’ prisoners serving life sentences increased by 3% to 908 when compared with 30 June 2025, while the number of ‘recalled’ IPP prisoners decreased by 6% to 1,415 over the same time period.

Recall to custody

The population recalled to custody (12,145 prisoners) decreased by 10% relative to the total a year earlier. There were changes to fixed-term recall from 2 September 2025 ^{[footnote 6]} such that those recalled to prison from certain sentences of less than 4 years were largely mandated to receive a 28-day fixed term recall as opposed to a standard recall. Eligible prisoners who were in prison on recall (and who had been in prison on recall for more than 28 days) would have been released when the policy change was enacted. This is reflected in the corresponding month-end decreases observed between September and December 2025. A further change was made to recalls at the end of March 2026 (“FTR56”), such that most recalled offenders would serve 56 days on recall. The month-end figures from January to June 2026 have fluctuated but have remained broadly in line with those recorded towards the end of 2025.

Further information on recent trends in prison recalls can be found in the “Licence recalls” chapter.

Foreign National Offenders (FNOs)

There were 10,134 (3,283 remand, 6,431 sentenced and 420 non-criminal) foreign nationals held in custody on 30 June 2026; representing 12% of the total prison population. The number of FNOs in the prison population decreased by 6% compared with 30 June 2025. The most common nationalities after British Nationals in prisons were Albanian (9% of the FNO prison population), Irish (7%), Polish (6%), Romanian (6%), and Indian (4%).

Question 2

2. Prison receptions and admissions

Accepted Answer

There were 17,945 first receptions into custody in the latest quarter.

12,395 were remand first receptions, 5,420 were sentenced first receptions and 130 were non-criminal first receptions.

Prisoner first receptions

The total number of first receptions between January and March 2026 was 5% lower than the same quarter in 2025.

There were 3,322 first receptions of foreign nationals between January and March 2026, which is 7% lower compared to the same quarter last year. There was a 4% decrease in first receptions for British nationals over the same period. The representation of foreign nationals amongst first receptions has consistently been 18% to 19% since the final quarter of 2022.

The foreign nationalities with the highest numbers of first receptions in the latest quarter were: Albanian (423), Romanian (328), and Polish (242). Compared to the same quarter in 2025 this corresponds to a decrease in first receptions of Albanians, Romanians and Poles by 25%, 6% and 7% respectively. When taken together, these three nationalities accounted for 30% of the total 3,322 first receptions of foreign nationals in this quarter, a decrease from 33% in the same quarter last year.

Sentenced first receptions in January to March 2026 fell by 5% compared to the same quarter in 2025. This was mainly driven by sentence lengths under 2 years which all saw decreases in first receptions compared to the same period in 2025.

Prison admissions

Compared to the same quarter in 2025, untried remand admissions decreased by 5%, while convicted unsentenced remand admissions decreased by 2%. Sentenced admissions were down 1% and recall admissions were up 32%.

When considering remand admissions, violence against the person had the largest number of remand admissions overall, accounting for 33% of untried remand admissions and 28% of convicted unsentenced remand admissions. Despite still accounting for the largest proportion of remand admissions, violence against the person remand admissions have decreased compared to the same period in 2025, down 16% for untried remand admissions and 7% for convicted unsentenced remand admissions.

For immediate custodial sentenced (ICS) admissions, violence against the person decreased by 2% compared to the same quarter last year, though still represented the largest number of ICS admissions overall, accounting for almost a quarter (23%) of all ICS admissions.

For ICS admissions, the most common offence groups for males, comprising just over half (54%) of all ICS male admissions, were violence against the person (24%), drug offences (15%), and theft offences (15%). For female ICS admissions the highest proportion was for theft offences (30%), followed by violence against the person (21%), and miscellaneous crimes against society (13%). These three offence groups accounted for almost two thirds (64%) of all female ICS admissions.

Recalls

There were 13,178 ‘recall prison admissions’ (those returned to prison for breaching their release conditions) between January and March 2026, 32% higher than the same quarter in 2025. Recall admissions of individuals serving determinate sentences of 12 months or more have risen substantially, up 54% compared with the same period in 2025.

These now account for 58% of all determinate sentence recall admissions, compared to 50% between January and March 2025.

The increase in recall admissions continues the trend seen since early 2022 and is likely driven by the removal of standard recalls being expanded to those serving determinate sentences of 4 years or less on 2 September 2025 ^{[footnote 6]}, the continued impact of early release schemes, such as SDS40, and the subsequent increase in the license population. For further information, please refer to the licence recalls section of this publication.

Question 3

3. Releases

Accepted Answer

12,977 offenders were released from custody in the latest quarter.

There were 12,892 releases from determinate sentences and 85 from indeterminate sentences.

Prison releases from custodial sentences

The number of prisoner releases between January and March 2026 fell 2% compared to the same period in 2025.The largest contribution to this decrease was a fall in releases of prisoners serving sentences less than or equal to 6 months, down 7% from the same period in 2025.

Releases on Home Detention Curfew (HDC)

The number of prisoners released on HDC in the latest quarter fell to 2,426, down 12% compared to the same period last year, driven by decreases for all determinate sentences less than 4 years.

Releases on Temporary Licence (ROTL)

There were 105,424 incidences of ROTL during the quarter ending March 2026, an increase of 25% compared to the same quarter in 2025. Of the ROTL incidences in the latest quarter, 66% were for ‘Work Related’ reasons.

The number of individuals receiving at least one incidence of ROTL between January and March 2026 increased by 12% (to 4,155) compared to the same quarter in 2025.

There were 224 Temporary Release Failures (TRF) between January and March 2026, however this still indicates more than 99.5% of ROTL incidences in the latest quarter did not result in a failure.

Please refer to the ‘Points to Note’ section of this publication for more information on our changes to the ROTL failures by sentence type table (3_Q_19).

Prisoner transfers

Between January and March 2026 there were 23,034 incidences of prisoner transfer, with 19,472 prisoners having at least one incidence of transfer. Both figures represent decreases, of 1% and 2% respectively, since the same period of 2025.

Question 4

4. Adjudications

Accepted Answer

There were 73,065 adjudication outcomes between January and March 2026.

This represents a 2% increase from the same quarter in the previous year. Additional days were awarded as punishment on 1,639 occasions in this quarter which represents a 3% decrease compared to the same time last year.

Around three in five (62%) of adjudications were proven.

There was a 6% increase in the number of proven adjudications, from 42,921 in January to March 2025 to 45,427 in the same quarter in 2026. This, in turn, contributed to a 7% rise in the number of punishments, reaching 137,555 between January and March 2026.

The largest offence group is ‘Unauthorised transactions’ which represents 34% of all proven adjudications. The number of proven ‘Unauthorised transactions’ adjudications increased 11% compared to the same time last year, to 15,512. Taken together, ‘Disobedience or disrespect’ and ‘Unauthorised transactions’ accounted for 63% of all proven adjudications.

Between January and March 2026 proven adjudications resulting from ‘Wilful damage’ have increased by 16% when compared to the same quarter last year, bringing this adjudication offence category to a similar proven adjudication volume as ‘Violence’ (5,744 proven adjudications for ‘Wilful damage’, compared with 5,818 for ‘Violence’, both 13% of all proven adjudications).

Between January and March 2026, additional days were awarded as punishment on 1,639 occasions. A total of 26,680 days were awarded in this period, representing a 1% increase compared to the same quarter in 2025, when 26,433 days were awarded.

Question 5

5. Licence Recalls

Accepted Answer

The number of licence recalls between January and March 2026 was 13,193, of which 524 were recalls from Home Detention Curfew (HDC).

The total number of recalls increased by 31% compared to the same quarter in 2025.

Quarterly recall numbers have remained at historically high levels over the last five quarters for both offenders released from sentences of less than 12 months (Offender Rehabilitation Act (ORA) recalls) and non-ORA recalls. This is likely to be associated with a series of policy changes over the last two years, including: (a) Fixed-Term Recall Statutory Instrument (FTR-SI), introduced in April 2024, which retrospectively mandated fixed-term recalls and automatic release after 14 days in custody on recall for most ORA offenders; (b) Standard Determinate Sentences 40% (SDS40), introduced in September 2024, which allowed certain prisoners serving standard determinate sentences with a 50% conditional release point to be released at the 40% point of their sentence; and (c) Fixed-Term Recall 48 months (FTR48), introduced in September 2025, which retrospectively mandated 28-day fixed-term recall for many offenders recalled to prison from certain sentences of less than 48 months. The combined effect of these changes is likely to have increased the number of offenders released on licence and, consequently, the opportunities for recall. The latest quarterly recall figure was 13,193, a decrease of 8% compared with the previous quarter (14,349) but 31% higher than a year earlier (10,101). Despite the quarterly decline, recall numbers remain considerably above levels seen one year ago.

The latest quarterly ORA recall figure (5,487) represents an increase of 11% compared with a year ago and a decrease of 13% from the previous quarter. There were 7,555 recalls of offenders serving determinate sentences of 12 months or more in January to March 2026, representing an increase of 53% compared with a year ago and a decrease of 4% from the previous quarter.

From 31 March 2026, 56-day Fixed-Term Recall (FTR56) replaced the previous 14-day and 28-day fixed-term recalls for eligible offenders. The change mandated 56-day fixed-term recall for most offenders serving standard determinate sentences, regardless of the sentence length, who were recalled or returned to custody on or after 31 March 2026. Of the recalls in January to March 2026, about 36% were 28-day fixed-term recalls, 35% were 14-day fixed-term recalls, 27% were standard determinate sentence recalls, 1% were 56-day fixed-term recalls and 1% were standard indeterminate sentence recalls. Following the introduction of FTR56, it is expected that numbers for 14-day and 28-day recalls will see substantial decreases in future publications. Compared with the previous quarter, recall volumes decreased across all established recall-length categories. The largest reduction was in 14-day fixed-term recalls, which fell by 16% (from 5,493 to 4,599), compared with a 7% decrease in 28-day fixed-term recalls and a 1% decrease in standard determinate sentence recalls. The distribution of recall lengths from July 2025 is not directly comparable with earlier periods. Prior to July 2025, some recalls were recorded as “emergency” recalls without specifying whether they were fixed-term or standard recalls, and these were included in the ‘Other’ category. In addition, the January to March 2026 figures for FTR56 include some offenders who were recalled before 31 March 2026 but returned to custody after that date and whose recalls were subsequently converted to FTR56. As a result of these recording and legislative changes, data from 31 March 2026 onwards are not directly comparable with earlier reporting periods.

Ethnicity proportions in quarterly recalls have remained relatively stable, with about 8 in 10 recalls being White, 7% being Black and 4% being Asian in the latest figures.

There usually is more than one reason for recalling an offender on licence. Of recalls in January to March 2026, about 73% involved non-compliance, 38% involved failure to keep in touch, 24% involved failure to reside, and 22% involved a charge of further offending.

From January to March 2026, 130 IPP prisoners and 66 prisoners serving a life sentence were rereleased, having previously been returned to custody for a breach of licence conditions. The total of these releases is a decrease of 2% from a year ago, with IPP releases decreasing by 16 offenders and life-sentence increasing by 11 offenders.

Offenders not returned to custody

Of all those released on licence and recalled to custody due to breaching the conditions of their licence between April 1999 and March 2026, there were 3,122 who had not been returned to custody by the end of June 2026.

A further 15 offenders had not been returned to custody as of June 2026 after recall between 1984 and April 1999, meaning the total number of offenders not returned to custody at the end of June 2026 was 3,137. These figures include some offenders believed to be dead or living abroad but who have not been confirmed as dead or deported.

Of the 3,137 not returned to custody by 30 June 2026, 489 had originally been serving a prison sentence for violence against the person offences and a further 87 for sexual offences.

Question 6

6. Probation

Accepted Answer

Following the transition to the new data pipeline for probation statistics, additional enhancements have been made to the data processing methodology. As a result, the published figures now provide a more complete picture of the probation caseload. These improvements have been implemented from the January to March 2026 reporting period onwards and have not been applied retrospectively. This creates a break in the time series, and users should therefore exercise caution when comparing these figures with those published for earlier periods.

As at 31 March 2026, there were 258,332 offenders supervised by the Probation Service in England and Wales.

Caseload

Probation caseload is a snapshot of all supervision by the Probation Service which was active on the last day of each reporting period.

As at 31 March 2026, there were 258,332 offenders supervised by the Probation Service in England and Wales (Figure 2). Of these, 114,923 offenders were supervised under court orders, comprising 64,112 offenders on community orders (COs) and 52,267 offenders on suspended sentence orders (SSOs) with requirements. The total caseload of offenders supervised before or after release from prison at the end of March 2026 was 148,984, including 80,989 offenders under pre-release supervision and 68,084 under post-release supervision.

Figure 2: Number of offenders under Probation Service supervision, 31 March 2016 to 2026 ^{[footnote 7]},^{[footnote 8]}

Starts

Probation starts cover all court order or pre-release supervision by the Probation Service which commenced within the reporting period.

Between January and March 2026, 46,644 offenders started court order or pre-release supervision by the Probation Service. This comprised 26,970 offenders who commenced court order supervision and 19,705 offenders who commenced pre-release supervision. Of those under court order supervision, 16,635 offenders started COs and 10,244 offenders started SSOs with requirements.

Terminations

Probation terminations cover all community order and suspended sentence order supervision by the Probation Service which terminated within the reporting period.

Of the 15,351 Cos and 9,059 SSOs terminated between January and March 2026, 73% and 76%, respectively, were terminated successfully. For COs, this means they either ran their full course or were terminated early for good progress, while for SSOs the supervision period ran its full course.

Pre-sentence reports

In the quarter January to March 2026, the total number of pre-sentence reports (PSRs) prepared by the Probation Service stood at 26,826. In the year ending March 2026, 87% of immediate custodial sentences proposed in PSRs resulted in that sentence being given, representing the highest concordance between sentence proposed and sentence given. Furthermore, immediate custody represented 9% of all sentences proposed in PSRs over the same period, meanwhile community sentences, which had a concordance rate of 46%, represented 87%.

Further information

This publication presents quarterly data trends.

Our statisticians regularly review the content of publications. Development of new and improved statistical outputs is usually dependent on reallocating existing resources. As part of our continual review and prioritisation, we welcome user feedback on existing outputs including content, breadth, frequency, and methodology. Please send any comments you have on this publication including suggestions for further developments or reductions in content.

Please note that this release introduces a shorter Probation commentary, which will continue to be provided in the quarterly publications released in July, October, and January. The full Probation commentary will be published once a year in the April release, with the next full commentary due in April 2027. If you have any comments or questions about this approach, or any other feedback on the Probation chapter, please contact us at probation-statistics-enquiries@justice.gov.uk.

Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

A ‘Guide to Offender Management Statistics’, which provides comprehensive information about data sources and quality, as well as key legislative changes.
A document outlining the ‘Users of Offender Management Statistics’
A set of data tables, covering each section of this bulletin, including a prison population data tool.

Accredited official statistics status

National Statistics are accredited official statistics. These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in July 2012. They comply with the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’. (Note that accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007).

Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website: https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/

It is the Ministry of Justice’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected for these accredited official statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the OSR promptly. This accredited status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained and reinstated when standards are restored

Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/media-enquiries

Non-Press enquiries about the Probation chapter of this publication should be sent to: probation-statistics-enquiries@justice.gov.uk

Non-Press enquiries about all other chapters of this publication should be sent to: OMSQ-SiC-publications@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 29 October 2026

URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly

‘https://www.gov.uk/government/news/increased-sentencing-powers-for-magistrates-to-address-prisons-crisis’) ↩
‘https://www.gov.uk/government/news/2000-extra-sitting-days-to-help-address-courts-crisis’ ↩
‘https://www.gov.uk/government/news/highest-ever-courts-funding-deal-agreed-to-deliver-faster-fairer-justice-for-victims’ ↩
‘https://www.gov.uk/government/news/2000-extra-sitting-days-to-help-address-courts-crisis’ ↩
‘https://www.gov.uk/government/news/increased-sentencing-powers-for-magistrates-to-address-prisons-crisis’ ↩
‘https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2025/833/made’ ↩ ↩²
Probation caseloads fell sharply in 2020 due to COVID-19 operational restrictions introduced on 23 March 2020. Caseloads have since recovered to pre-pandemic levels ↩
The table of data that this graph is based on is labelled as ‘Table 6.6’ in the quarterly probation tables from 2023. ↩

Offender management statistics quarterly: January to March 2026

Applies to England and Wales

Points to note

Statistician’s comment

1. Population

Chart description text

Remand prison population

Sentenced prison population

Extended Determinate Sentences (EDS)

Indeterminate sentences

Recall to custody

Foreign National Offenders (FNOs)

2. Prison receptions and admissions

Prisoner first receptions

Prison admissions

Recalls

3. Releases

Prison releases from custodial sentences

Releases on Home Detention Curfew (HDC)

Releases on Temporary Licence (ROTL)

Prisoner transfers

4. Adjudications

5. Licence Recalls

Offenders not returned to custody

6. Probation

Caseload

Starts

Terminations

Pre-sentence reports

Further information

Accompanying files

Accredited official statistics status

Contact

Is this page useful?

Help us improve GOV.UK

Help us improve GOV.UK

Cookies on GOV.UK

Applies to England and Wales

Points to note

Statistician’s comment

1. Population

Chart description text

Remand prison population

Sentenced prison population

Extended Determinate Sentences (EDS)

Indeterminate sentences

Recall to custody

Foreign National Offenders (FNOs)

2. Prison receptions and admissions

Prisoner first receptions

Prison admissions

Recalls

3. Releases

Prison releases from custodial sentences

Releases on Home Detention Curfew (HDC)

Releases on Temporary Licence (ROTL)

Prisoner transfers

4. Adjudications

5. Licence Recalls

Offenders not returned to custody

6. Probation

Caseload

Starts

Terminations

Pre-sentence reports

Further information

Accompanying files

Accredited official statistics status

Contact

Is this page useful?

Help us improve GOV.UK

Help us improve GOV.UK