United Kingdom: England & Wales
Seen in the press
Read our selection of press reports about this country.
UK : government was warned two months earlier Birmingham prison riot
Ministers were told urgent action was needed to protect staff and prisoners amid growing violence in prisons. The government was warned two months before a riot at HMP Birmingham involving hundreds of prisoners that the prevalence of psychoactive drugs meant urgent action was needed to prevent atta…UK : around 240 prisoners moved from HMP Birmingham
Decision follows rioting by inmates – UK’s worst since 1990 – which is believed to be linked to use of synthetic cannabis. Hundreds of inmates were moved from Birmingham prison on Saturday as the government announced an urgent investigation into conditions and safety inside the privately run jail f…
UK : privatisation of probation service has left public at greater risk – report
Chief inspector of probation says some offenders not seen for months and some lost in the system entirely. The public have been left more at risk by the privatisation of the probation service with some offenders not seen for weeks or months and others lost in the system altogether, according to an…UK : Prison Reform Trust report claims overcrowded jails 'more likely' to fail
The most overcrowded prisons in England and Wales are twice as likely to be rated as failing, a new report claims. According to the Prisons Reform Trust, nearly two thirds of prisons are overfull, with jails holding more than 10,000 inmates than they were built to.UK : Our prison restraint techniques can kill children.
Tuesday the Ministry of Justice had been told that the restraint techniques it had approved for use on children in custody could kill them. A risk assessment carried out by an independent medical adviser concluded that 28 of the 66 sanctioned restraints had a 40% to 60% chance of resulting in injur…UK : why are prison suicides still increasing?
When Carl tried to kill himself in prison, he says he was angling for a quick escape – he thought about spending years with a rock hammer digging a tunnel, Shawshank-style, but ultimately decided that he couldn’t face the commitment. He waited for his 9AM check, and knew from six years of prison ex…UK : regime at HMP Hindley one of worst ever seen, say prison inspectors
Damning report criticises category C jail’s treatment of inmates with some locked in their cells for more than 24 hours at a time. The regime at the category C Hindley jail near Wigan is “one of the worst and possibly one of the very worst that inspectors had ever seen in this type of prison”, an o…UK : Liz Truss to resume Prison Officers Association talks
Justice Secretary Liz Truss will restart talks with the prison officers’ union later amid claims the service in England and Wales is “in meltdown”. On Tuesday, up to 10,000 prison officers in England and Wales stopped work over claims of a “surge in violence” among inmates.UK : prison officers end protest after court order
Prison officers have returned to work after a High Court injunction ordered them to end a 24-hour protest.Up to 10,000 prison officers in England and Wales stopped work over claims of a “surge in violence” in jails. Granting the injunction, Mr Justice Kerr said prison officers’ action had created a…Why the UK prison service is in crisis, by a former inmate
The state of prisons in England and Wales isn’t something that often makes the national news agenda. In fact, it’s usually only when something has gone really badly wrong that our prison system makes the front pages. After recent riots and prisoner escapes, such as the two inmates who were on the r…UK : two Pentonville prisoners hid escape with 'pillow bodies'
Two prisoners have escaped from HMP Pentonville, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said. The escape was discovered when officers carrying out checks found two pillows made to look like bodies in the prisoners’ beds on Monday. It is understood the inmates, aged 28 and 31, used diamond-tipped cutting…USA : these puppies have a ‘magical’ effect on a state prison
A program called Tender Loving Canines is among the new and restored rehabilitation courses popping up in California state prisons since Gov. Jerry Brown began emphasizing programs that help inmates prepare to reenter society. When a pair of puppies stepped into a state prison’s highest security ya…UK : eagles could be used to guard prisons from drones being used to smuggle in drugs, weapons and other contraband
Eagles could be deployed to intercept drones being used to smuggle drugs, weapons and other contraband into prisons. Prisons Minister Sam Gyimah said the birds of prey could be recruited to take down remote-controlled miniature aircraft as they are flown towards jails.UK : Truss to hold talks with prison officers over violence
Justice Secretary Liz Truss is due to hold urgent talks with leaders of the Prison Officers Association as concerns grow about safety in jails. The union had planned meetings outside each jail on Tuesday, to highlight fears over increasing violence and suicides in English and Welsh prisons. The mov…UK : prison violence epidemic partly due to staff cuts, MoJ admits
Self-inflicted deaths at a record high and assaults rise 34% as observers condemn “toxic mix of violence, death and misery”. The Ministry of Justice has explicitly acknowledged that staff cuts are a factor in the rising tide of violence in prisons in England and Wales.