Recent changes in the United Kingdom's Criminal Justice Act of 1991 indicate that the prison population may rise, from the existing rate of about 95 individuals per 100,000 population. An increase in the inmate population presents an important choice to the Prison Service which can either maintain the status quo or acknowledge that principles of the Woolf Report and the development of coherent regimes for prisoners are essential to the development of custodial services. Provisions of the Woolf Report that focus on prison reform policies are noted, and the importance of improved relations between correctional staff and inmates is emphasized. 9 references