UK : prison reforms 'simply not achievable' amid 'loss of control'

The government’s ambitious prison reform plans are “simply not achievable”, the former chief inspector of prisons has warned.
Giving a lecture in London, Prof Nick Hardwick said rising suicides, assaults and murders in jails were proof of the “loss of control”.

His comments come days after a prisoner was stabbed to death and two others injured in London’s Pentonville prison.
The government says it will set out prison safety and reform plans soon. It has already announced an extra £10m to be spent on prison safety, and 400 extra staff are due to be deployed by March next year.
In his speech, Prof Hardwick - chief inspector of prisons from 2010-16 - said homicide in prison had previously been rare at between one and three a year, but had risen to seven in 2015 and five so far this year. “I don’t believe this recent increase is a coincidence,” he said.“It is the most extreme example of the decline in safety that I… have been warning about for years.“

Read full article.