As of March 2026, there were 4,537 people held on remand. Each is costing the taxpayer about $414 per day. This means the large share of the remand population that poses no threat to public safety is costing taxpayers nearly $1 million every single day.
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Budget 2026 spends $503 million on expanding prisons. But 41% of the prison population are people on remand and more than half are released once their case is heard.