The Prison Act 1952 enshrines in law the statutory duties of a prison chaplain. These tasks, which must be undertaken daily, are incorporated into Prison Rules and Young Offender Rules. They are explained in detail in Prison Service Instruction 05/2016 Faith and Pastoral Care for Prisoners.<\/p>
We recognise and respect the right of prisoners to register and practice their faith while serving their prison sentence. Chaplaincy plays a critical and unique role in the work of prisons and life of prisoners. It provides not only faith advice but pastoral care in support of HM Prison and Probation Service\u2019s commitments to decency, safety and rehabilitation.<\/p>
A breakdown of prisoner population by religion is provided in the quarterly Offender Management statistics publication on GOV.UK. The latest publication can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2018<\/a>. The relevant extract of those statistics is provided in the following table:<\/p>
Table 1.5: Prison population by religion and sex<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> <\/p><\/td><\/tr> <\/p><\/td> 31-Mar-18<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 30-Jun-18<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 30-Sep-18<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 31-Dec-18<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 31-Mar-19<\/strong><\/p><\/td> Percentage change March 2018 to 2019<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> Males and Females<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 83,263<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 82,773<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 83,005<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 82,236<\/strong><\/p><\/td> 82,634<\/strong><\/p><\/td> -1%<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> All Christian<\/p><\/td> 39,839<\/p><\/td> 39,541<\/p><\/td> 39,784<\/p><\/td> 39,293<\/p><\/td> 39,515<\/p><\/td> -1%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Anglican<\/em><\/p><\/td> 13,971<\/em><\/p><\/td> 13,808<\/em><\/p><\/td> 13,755<\/em><\/p><\/td> 13,496<\/em><\/p><\/td> 13,480<\/em><\/p><\/td> -4%<\/em><\/p><\/td><\/tr> Free Church<\/em><\/p><\/td> 776<\/em><\/p><\/td> 764<\/em><\/p><\/td> 782<\/em><\/p><\/td> 758<\/em><\/p><\/td> 737<\/em><\/p><\/td> -5%<\/em><\/p><\/td><\/tr> Roman Catholic<\/em><\/p><\/td> 14,334<\/em><\/p><\/td> 14,277<\/em><\/p><\/td> 14,246<\/em><\/p><\/td> 14,094<\/em><\/p><\/td> 14,160<\/em><\/p><\/td> -1%<\/em><\/p><\/td><\/tr> Other Christian<\/em><\/p><\/td> 10,758<\/em><\/p><\/td> 10,692<\/em><\/p><\/td> 11,001<\/em><\/p><\/td> 10,945<\/em><\/p><\/td> 11,138<\/em><\/p><\/td> 4%<\/em><\/p><\/td><\/tr> Muslim<\/p><\/td> 12,847<\/p><\/td> 12,894<\/p><\/td> 12,868<\/p><\/td> 12,894<\/p><\/td> 13,008<\/p><\/td> 1%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Hindu<\/p><\/td> 379<\/p><\/td> 354<\/p><\/td> 350<\/p><\/td> 361<\/p><\/td> 343<\/p><\/td> -9%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Sikh<\/p><\/td> 625<\/p><\/td> 632<\/p><\/td> 634<\/p><\/td> 638<\/p><\/td> 611<\/p><\/td> -2%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Buddhist<\/p><\/td> 1,517<\/p><\/td> 1,518<\/p><\/td> 1,569<\/p><\/td> 1,575<\/p><\/td> 1,619<\/p><\/td> 7%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Jewish<\/p><\/td> 480<\/p><\/td> 488<\/p><\/td> 477<\/p><\/td> 482<\/p><\/td> 477<\/p><\/td> -1%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Other religious group<\/p><\/td> 1,724<\/p><\/td> 1,777<\/p><\/td> 1,782<\/p><\/td> 1,838<\/p><\/td> 1,876<\/p><\/td> 9%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Non recognised<\/p><\/td> 10<\/p><\/td> 11<\/p><\/td> 12<\/p><\/td> 6<\/p><\/td> 7<\/p><\/td> **<\/p><\/td><\/tr> No religion<\/p><\/td> 25,711<\/p><\/td> 25,393<\/p><\/td> 25,413<\/p><\/td> 25,053<\/p><\/td> 25,034<\/p><\/td> -3%<\/p><\/td><\/tr> Not recorded<\/p><\/td> 131<\/p><\/td> 165<\/p><\/td> 116<\/p><\/td> 96<\/p><\/td> 144<\/p><\/td> 10%<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> Chaplains may work on a full-time, part-time, sessional or voluntary basis. A breakdown of Chaplains in employed in prisons and by faith, is provided below.<\/p> Number of chaplains (headcount) employed by HM Prison and Probation Service1<\/sup>, as at 31 March 2019.<\/strong><\/p> |