Rise in Number of First-Time Albanian Offenders Entering British Prisons

The Ministry of Justice figures also reveal a 50-year record high of prisoners on remand in the UK's booming jail population

Undated image of the hands of prisoner behind the jail. Shutterstock

The number of Albanian migrants entering the UK prison system for the first time has risen in the past year, new Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures show.

According to the latest Offender Management Statistics (OMS) for England and Wales, 537 Albanian inmates were recorded as “first receptions” to British jails between January and March this year.

The figure is an increase from 428 for the same period last year—and almost treble that of figures from 2020. OMS data for the same period—recorded just before the pandemic—shows 289 Albanian offenders entered British prisons as “first receptions.”

The hike in offender numbers from the Balkans country has increased its share of the UK’s total foreign national prison population to 14 percent.

Albanian criminals continue to make up the highest number of all foreign nationalities detained in UK jails, and the second highest number of all prisoners falling only behind British offenders.

The latest OMS statistics come just 2 months after a “groundbreaking” UK government deal with Albanian to deport criminals back to prisons in their home country.

Under the arrangement, 200 Albanian inmates serving sentences of 4 years or more will be sent back to see out the remainder of their terms in Albanian prisons.

The £8 million MoJ deal—equating to £32 per prisoner per day—will also help modernise Albania’s prison system.

The government hope the move will help free up Britain’s booming prison population and double the number of offenders without UK citizenship removed annually.

Last year, a record 12,301 Albanians reached the UK on small boats, representing a quarter of the total of 45,755.

Record High

In total, 10,321 foreign national offenders (FNO) were recorded as being held in custody as of June 30, representing 12 percent of the total prison population of 85,851.

The number of FNOs has increased by 7 percent compared to June last year, according to the data.

“This is largely driven by the 22 percent increase in the FNO remand population which contributed more than two and a half times as many additional individuals as the 4 percent increase in the sentenced FNO population,” the report states.

“The non-criminal foreign national population fell by 29 percent over the same period.”

There were 3,135 first receptions of foreign nationals between January and March 2023, which is 24 percent higher compared to the same period in 2022.

The prison statistics also reveal a 50-year “record high” in the number of those being held on remand.

As of June 30, a total of 15,523 prisoners were recorded in this category.

The “untried” population increased by 16 percent within a year and the “convicted unsentenced’” population increased by 15 percent, the report stated.

Most prisoners under an immediate custodial sentence— 31 percent—were convicted of violence against the person followed by sexual offences at 20 percent and drug offences at 17 percent.

The report states that all three offence categories have seen increases over the last year.

It added, “The occurrence of these offence groups in the remand population has also increased over the same period so the trend in the sentenced population may be expected to continue for some time.”

A general view through the bars of Birmingham Prison in Winson Green in Birmingham, England, on Aug. 20, 2018. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Albanian Crime Gangs

The latest prison figures come just months after the United Nations (UN) warned Albanian criminals are exerting “excessive” control of the UK’s crime network.

Speaking to The Epoch Times last month, former police chief Tony Saggers described how organised crime gangs from the Balkans country are dominating the UK’s cocaine supply networks, with small boat arrivals contributing to the gangs’ growing networks.

Mr. Saggers, who headed up the National Crime Agency’s Drugs Threat and Intelligence department, said Albanian gangsters have been able to gain considerable control in Britain’s booming drugs trade by slashing their own wholesale profits to undercut rivals.

In May, The Epoch Times revealed how the number of Albanian migrants locked up in British jails had almost doubled in four years.

Analysis of MoJ figures from the final quarter of 2022 showed that almost 1,400 Albanian foreign nationals were recorded in custody—compared to just over 800 in 2019.

The same month, figures from the Home Office—released to Albanian news outlet “Top Channel”—revealed that over 12,800 Albanians who entered the UK illegally have breached strict immigration bail conditions.

The numbers made up a quarter of all bail breaches by illegal migrants from January 2022 to April this year. According to government figures, a total of 44,957 people were recorded as breaking immigration bail in Britain within the 15-month period.

Of those numbers, 12,842 were Albanian nationals who reached Britain by small boats crossing the English Channel or other illegal means.