The prison system is broken: can the UK escape its cycle of reoffending?

The prison population in England and Wales has doubled in the last 30 years, with overcrowding now endemic across the system. Subscribe to The Guardian on YouTube ► http://bit.ly/subscribegdn But the government's strategy of easing this pressure by granting early release to thousands of offenders has had a knock-on effect. With many lacking stability on the outside, reoffending rates are high, exacerbating the existing problem. The Guardian visited Wales to see this playing out on the streets of Bridgend; and the Netherlands, to find out how the Dutch have managed to close more than 20 prisons in the past 10 years, seemingly in complete contrast to the struggles in Britain With thanks to Prison Escape Utrech and Tap Social Movement: https://prisonescape.com/utrecht/ https://www.tapsocialmovement.com/ The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://bit.ly/3biVfwh Sign up to the Guardian's free new daily newsletter, First Edition ► http://theguardian.com/first-edition Website ► https://www.theguardian.com Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/theguardian Twitter ► https://twitter.com/guardian Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/guardian The Guardian on YouTube: Guardian News ► https://bit.ly/guardiannewssubs Guardian Australia ► https://bit.ly/guardianaussubs Guardian Football ► https://bit.ly/gdnfootballsubs Guardian Sport ► https://bit.ly/gdnsportsubs It's Complicated ► https://bit.ly/ItsComplicatedSubs Guardian Live ► https://bit.ly/guardianlivesubs #prisons #uk #jail #youngoffenders #repeatoffenders #hmp