Catholicism is the religion of one in five prisoners

The proportion of Catholic prisoners in England and Wales is double that of the general population, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice.

Figures obtained by The Tablet from a Freedom of Information request show that around 18 per cent of prisoners declared themselves as Catholics while the Catholic population of England and Wales is estimated at just under 10 per cent

In June 2009, 14,262 prisoners declared themselves Catholic while the latest figures reveal there are 15,280 Catholics out of a total prison population of 84,163.

The religion of prisoners is self-declared and there is no obligation on any inmate to state their faith.

Andy Keen-Downs, the chief executive of the Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact), believed the rise was due to the number of migrants from Catholic countries.

“In prison we have seen some growth from Eastern Europe including countries that are predominantly Catholic,” he said. “My assumption is that the increase is down to patterns of migration.” He added that there has been a disproportionate number of Catholics in prison for some time.

Mr Keen-Downs said that there were more Catholic chaplains in prisons, but he is ­concerned by the number of children who have a parent in prison, estimated at 200,000.

His organisation is seeking to help equip Catholic schools on how to respond to this problem but he said he was disappointed that he had received no response from schools to an offer of free training on this issue, ­circulated by the Catholic Education Service.