prison population in summer 1989 was about 1,745, or 110 per 100,000. This is in line with the falling prison population in the province from its peak of 2,945 in 1978. 130. The figures for Scotland and England and Wales represent a relatively high prison population in comparison with other European countries with similar crime problems, and it results in serious overcrowding in many prisons, some of which are having to hold more than double the number of prisoners for which the accommodation is intended. In Northern Ireland, there is already a high percentage of single cell occupancy in all the province's penal establishments. 131. Paragraphs 164 and 165 below describe the Government's programme for building new prisons in England and Wales, but the Government is equally concerned both to reduce the number of people who receive prison sentences and the number who are remanded in custody before trial. 132. A government Green Paper, "Punishment, custody and the community", was published in July 1988 setting out for discussion a number of proposals under which community—based measures could be used more extensively for those who received prison sentences at present, and also more effectively in terms of future offending and hence of levels of crime more generally. It drew attention to the substantial fall which had already taken place in the number of juveniles sentenced to custody (a reduction of about one half in six years, with no increase in known juvenile offending), and suggested that similar efforts should be made in relation to offenders aged between 17 and 20. The Government is now considering reactions to the Green Paper and will announce its conclusions and its proposals for further legislation later this year. The of young people in custody in England and Wales had already fallen 
**Analysis**
The text discusses the prison population, overcrowding, and the government's initiatives to reduce the number of people in prison and increase community-based measures. This suggests a focus on social and criminal justice issues, which are more closely related to human behavior and societal policies rather than economic or environmental factors.

**Category**
Health, Employment