Jails struggle to provide constructive activities, the report says

The Prison Reform Trust study, based on new Prison Service performance targets, showed that positive random drug tests rose to 12.3% against a 10% target.

Data also showed the number of serious assaults was higher than targeted.

The PRT says the service failed to meet seven of its own 18 performance indicators introduced last month.

This report demonstrates that overcrowded jails don't work PRT

The serious assault rate was 1.54% against a target of 1.25%, with open young offenders' institutions scoring the highest rate of 4.32%.

This meant the Prison Service had failed to meet its target for violence for the seventh year running, the trust said.

PRT spokesman Enver Solomon said that, because the prison population remained at record levels, jails were struggling to provide constructive activities for inmates such as education, work or offending programmes.

"This report demonstrates that overcrowded jails don't work," he said.

"They are unsafe, inhumane and ineffective.

"Far too many prisoners are passively serving time when they should be actively paying back the damage they have caused to communities."

'Good progress'

About 16,500 prisoners were living in cells built for one that were holding two, the trust said.

This meant that prisoners were forced to defecate in front of each other and even eat their meals while sitting on the toilet.

In the light of the fact that the prison population has been quite high we believe we have made good progress Prison Service

There were 75,146 prisoners in England and Wales on 1 August 2004, a rise of 1,235 from last year, the report continued.

And 83 of the 138 prisons in England and Wales were overcrowded.

In its annual report, published last month, the Prison Service said it had made good progress in educating and resettling prisoners and in cutting the number of escapes.

"I don't think the PRT has recognised the improvements we have made in the last year", a spokesman said.