A fifth of prisoners in England and Wales have not been tried or sentenced, with that figure rising to a quarter of all women in prison, openDemocracy can reveal.
Of the approximately 87,000 people imprisoned in England and Wales, more than 17,000 were held on remand while awaiting trial or sentencing as of June 2025. This is a 44% rise in the decade since June 2015, when 11,785 were on remand, according to Ministry of Justice data analysed by openDemocracy. The overall prison population increased by 2% in that time.
In some prisons, more than half of prisoners are on remand, according to data collected by the MoJ during prison inspections. Inspectors visiting HMP Leeds and HMP Lewes last year found that 70% of prisoners in both prisons were on remand.
