News May 2, 2017 UK: call for inquiry over 'unbroken pattern' of deaths at prison HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes comes under fire during inquest into death of inmate – the 18th to have died there in past four years
News May 2, 2017 UK: transgender woman said she would leave male prison 'in a box' Inquest hears Vikki Thompson died within a month of arriving at HMP Leeds where she was classed as being a suicide risk. A transgender woman sent to a male prison was found dead in her cell after repeatedly warning that she would leave “in a box”, a jury has heard.
News April 27, 2017 United Kingdom: prison statistics reveal big rise in self-harm and assaults on staff Latest Ministry of Justice data for England and Wales shows 38% rise in assaults on staff and 24% rise in self-harm incidents
News April 26, 2017 United Kingdom: teen's detention breached prison rules, Liz Truss admits A 16-year-old boy held in solitary confinement for four months was a victim of procedural “failings”, Liz Truss has admitted.
News April 21, 2017 United Kingdom: extremist prisoners to be held in 'separation centres' inside jails Plan to separate ‘subversive prisoners’ follows official inquiry into the spread of Islamic extremism inside prisons
News April 13, 2017 United Kingdom: prisons no longer place for punishment, ministers say Prisons are no longer places for punishment, ministers have said after the phrase was excluded from the first legal definition of the purpose of jails.
News April 10, 2017 United Kingdom: cuts to legal aid for prisoners ruled unlawful Campaigners win court of appeal battle against 2013 limits introduced by Chris Grayling in three out of five categories
News March 28, 2017 UK: prison suicide rate more than doubles in four years, figures reveal Assaults and self-harm in jails in England and Wales also reach record levels as politicians are urged to address the ‘shameful’ issues facing the penal system.
News March 20, 2017 Royaume-Uni : Supreme court to consider appeal to enforce smoking ban in jails Prisoner says rules on smoking in communal areas are not being upheld, exposing him to dangerous levels of secondhand smoke. The remaining rights of prisoners to smoke inside their cells are to be challenged at the supreme court in a case which, if successful, could inflame discipline problems in p…
News March 10, 2017 United Kingdom: prison fires in England and Wales at record high Prison fires in England and Wales have reached record levels, according to official figures.
News March 8, 2017 United Kingdom: female prison reform undermined by short custodial sentences Government proposals for female prison system reforms have been welcomed as a step forward
News March 7, 2017 United Kingdom: child's solitary confinement faces High Court challenge Legal battle comes amid growing crisis in UK prisons
News March 3, 2017 United Kingdom: une prison 4 étoiles pour 2 100 détenus britanniques This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
News March 1, 2017 United Kingdom: prisoners with serious mental health problems face urgent treatment delays Almost 75% of prisoners are facing delays in being transferred to NHS hospitals to receive urgent treatment for serious mental health problems.
News February 27, 2017 Grande-Bretagne : une prison privatisée confiée à Sodexo fait scandale This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
News February 23, 2017 United Kingdom: worst offenders could die in jail under plans for whole-life sentences to be examined by MSPs Scotland’s worst criminals would die in jail under plans for whole-life sentences to be examined by MSPs.
News February 22, 2017 Do the Dutch have the answer to UK prison crisis? The Prisons and Court Reform Bill is set to be published amid reports of a crisis - but is the answer to lock fewer offenders up? It’s the quietness that hits you first.
News February 22, 2017 UK prisons 'holding child inmates in solitary confinement against UN torture rules' Investigation exposes serious allegations of international human rights breaches at young offenders institutions in the UK. British prisons are holding child inmates in solitary confinement in an alleged breach of UN torture rules and British law, The Independent has found. Lawyers in one case have…
News February 21, 2017 Grande-Bretagne : une prison privatisée confiée à Sodexo fait scandale This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
News February 14, 2017 L'état des prisons britanniques This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.
News February 13, 2017 Inmates have 'effectively taken over' one of Britain's biggest prisons Inmates have effectively taken over at one of Britain’s biggest prisons, an undercover investigation has found.
News February 13, 2017 UK: prison 'culture change' needed to prevent suicides A culture change in the penal system is needed to stop the rising number of suicides in prisons, according to a new report. Campaigners say a “profound” shift is needed to move from a primarily punitive approach to one centred around rehabilitation and recovery.
News February 12, 2017 UK: government to enshrine ministerial duty to rehabilitate prisoners into law for the first time Liz Truss says she wants the prison population to go down but ‘for the right reasons’. The Government will for the first time enshrine into law an explicit duty for the Justice Secretary to ensure that prisons are places of rehabilitation rather than just punishment.
News February 12, 2017 UK: HMP Northumberland prison officer: 'We have lost control of the jail' A prison officer at HMP Northumberland has told an undercover reporter ‘we have lost control of the jail’, as shocking footage reveals major lapses of security, intoxicated prisoners and beleaguered staff. In tonight’s episode of BBC Panorama, a journalist experiences life inside the Acklington-bas…