Prison Service report shows fall in numbers sent to jail

New figures show a reduction in the number of committals and people being sent to jail.

The Prison Service Annual report says there were more than 15,700 committals last year - a 7.6% fall on 2012.

The number of people being handed down a jail sentence fell by 5.8% in 2013 to just over 13,000.

The report also shows that the number of prisoners on restricted regimes for their own protection reduced in 2013.

During the second half of the year, there was a 32% decrease from 339 to 228.