The population of prisoners on remand has reached its ‘highest level in fifty years’, according to new data. The number of people on remand in June 2025 was over 17,000. Those in prison awaiting trial now account for 13% of the total prison population, which is a 5% increase on last year.

A new report by JUSTICE highlights the ‘unequal impact’ of decision-making, with those from racialised communities make up an over-proportional number of those on remand at 32%. They are also more likely to be remanded in custody by the courts than White British defendants.

There has also been an increase of 22% in women on remand since June 2024.

Building on research from 2023, the new report calls for reducing unnecessary remand, tackling inequalities, and improving fairer and consistent decision-making.

The charity recommends unconditional bail as the starting point whilst individuals await trial, emphasising that remand should be treated as a ‘last resort’ and only considered ‘once all other options have been exhausted’. It argues that an immediate resort to custody before trial should not be the default, noting than an excessive reliance on remand undermines fairness.

Core areas for reform highlighted in the blueprint included the over-use of pre-trial detention, increasing diversity of the ministry, and improving overall fairness. JUSTICE notes that targeting reform of the Magistrates’ Courts is ‘key to this issue, since they make most of these pre-trial detention decisions’. It calls on the Court and Tribunal Service to consider creating ‘specialist remand courtrooms’ with specially trained judges and magistrates.

Emma Snell, legal policy manager at JUSTICE, said there is a need for ‘fewer people in prison’ and ‘better-trained, more representative magistrates’. She described the report’s recommendations as ‘simple, practical tools’ to address the ‘significant variations’ in how Magistrates currently approach remand decision-making.

Tom Franklin, the association’s chief executive, told JUSTICE they ‘strongly support measures that help magistrates make fair and lawful decisions’ but that ‘broader issues’ could reduce overall effectiveness. A ‘shortage of legal advisers, increasing case backlogs, and the rising number of unrepresented defendants’ were among issues raised which must also be addressed to create ‘meaningful change’.