The prison population in England and Wales is projected to increase to 98,500 (23.7%) by March 2026, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Justice. Matched by an intention to build space for 20,000 extra prison places, this would take numbers to an all-time high for the two countries. This is largely a result of the recruitment of an extra 23,400 police officers, which is likely to increase charge volumes and therefore increase the future prison population. The prison population in England and Wales was 79,580 as of the end of 2021. It is projected to increase in the short term, rising to pre-COVID (from February 2020) population by July 2022, then keep increasing steadily to reach 97,500 prisoners by July 2025. There was considerable uncertainty around how the courts might recover from Covid-19 as well as the impact of extra police. The projection also incorporates the estimated impact of policies in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, including provisions for changing the automatic release point for violent and sexual offenders.