LONDON, March 8: Prisons in England and Wales are close to bursting point with a record 75,007 men and women behind bars, even though crime throughout Britain is on the decline, the British government said on Monday.

The total prison population - just 184 short of what the Prison Service calls "usable operational capacity" - was blamed on excessive use of prison to punish non-serious offenders.

"Today's prison population has reached more than 75,000 for the first time in history ... despite the fact that crime has fallen since 1997," said Prisons Minister Paul Goggins.

"The use of short prison sentences for non-serious offenders continues to clog up the prison system with offenders who could be better punished and rehabilitated in the community." Efforts were underway, Mr Goggins said, to set new sentencing guidelines for judges. -AFP