One in 20 prisoners are gipsies or travellers: More than 4,000 are behind bars say jail inspectors

There are about as many gypsies in jail as there are women prisoners

Figures for young offenders are even more stark



Study by HM Prisons Inspectorate says reasons for this lie 'outside of prison service'

HMP Woodhill was praised in report for celebrating ‘Gypsy and Traveller Month’

At least one in every 20 prisoners is from the gipsy, Romany or traveller communities, a report reveals.

With 4,276 prisoners in England and Wales being from these groups, they total 5 per cent of the jail population.

It means there are as many gipsies, Romany and travellers in our jails as there are women.

The report, entitled 'People in Prison: Gypsies, Romany and Travellers' was commissioned to help understand the experiences of particular groups in the prison system

The figures are higher among youth offenders. Around 12 per cent of all inmates aged 12 to 18 in prisons known as Secure Training Centres are gipsies, Romany or travellers.

The study, by HM Prisons Inspectorate, concluded that people from these backgrounds are ‘significantly over-represented in prison’.

It called for ‘comprehensive monitoring’ of the number of prisoners from the groups to understand why so many are behind bars. ‘The reasons for this over-representation lie outside the prison service and more needs to be done to understand and address this,’ the report said. The HM Prisons Inspectorate added that its prediction of total numbers is likely to be an underestimate.

The report was commissioned to help understand the experiences of particular groups in the prison system.

It finds that many from the three groups have a ‘mistrust’ of the police and the justice system, because they think it is designed to help ‘permanently settled communities’.

Around five per cent of prisoners identified themselves as Gypsy, Romany or Traveller in the national prison survey. There are around 85,000 inmates in England and Wales, giving an estimated total of 4,276 behind bars

They cite evidence that gipsy offenders are more likely to be given a prison sentence and be remanded in custody because they do not have a permanent address and because of fears that they may abscond.

The 2011 census included 58,000 people who identified themselves as gipsy or traveller. However, it did not survey for Romany and the census has struggled to track travellers.

In April 2012, the Mail reported on a gang of gipsy pickpockets, the Rostas family, who stole from at least 185 commuters on late night trains leaving London and used the cash to build five mansions in Romania.

There are around 85,000 inmates in England and Wales. The population of women prisoners is nearly 4,000.

In the report, prisoners were asked to identify themselves as gipsy, Romany or traveller.

The report says the word gipsy refers to Romany groups from Europe who settled in England in medieval times and lived nomadic lives. Romany or Roma speak the Romani language or did so in the past, while traveller refers to communities including Scottish, Welsh and Irish travellers who live nomadically.

The definition includes ‘occupational travellers’ such as ‘showpeople’ and ‘new travellers’.

HMP Woodhill was praised in the report for celebrating ‘Gipsy and Traveller Month’ and giving more telephone credit to gipsy prisoners to help pay for phone calls to their families.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘We are committed to ensuring fair and equal treatment for all prisoners.

‘As part of this, we recently launched a campaign to encourage and support gipsy, traveller and Roma prisoners to declare their heritage and address some of the sensitive issues affecting them and their communities.