Prison officials are reportedly directing governors at 10 medium-security jails to draw up plans to place a second inmate in temporary buildings used as additional cells. The proposal involves adding a second bed to prefab “pod” units currently operating as overflow accommodation, according to leaked documents cited by one outlet.
The documents frame the move as an effort to address prison overcrowding. The reporting centers on operational steps at specific facilities—namely medium-security sites—and focuses on the infrastructure change required to double occupancy in the temporary structures.
Across outlets, the main emphasis is on the same reported policy direction: using existing temporary accommodation more intensively by adding beds, rather than immediately expanding capacity through new permanent cells. Details on timeline, the number of inmates affected, and how beds would be allocated are not provided in the available excerpted reporting.
