News December 8, 2016 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.
News December 8, 2016 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…
News December 3, 2016 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…
News November 29, 2016 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…
News November 17, 2016 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.
News November 15, 2016 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…
News November 15, 2016 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…
News November 8, 2016 UK : As a prison doctor I’ve seen the crisis in jails – half the inmates shouldn’t be there. The riots at Bedford prison show the problems facing institutions. We need to stop locking up addicts and people who are mentally ill
News November 8, 2016 UK : Austerity will unleash mayhem. Prison breakouts are just the start. The consequences of cuts made years ago are now becoming visible: rising food poverty, failing flood defences and disorder in the prison system.
News November 7, 2016 UK : Bedford Prison Riot VideoPrison guards were forced to retreat to a ‘safe place’ until riot officers arrived. Video shows inmates whooping with excitement during six-hour rampage.Prison guards were forced to retreat to a ‘safe place’ until riot officers arrived.
News November 7, 2016 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…
News November 3, 2016 UK : government to recruit 2,500 new prison officers after warning cuts are leaving jails unsafe The Government has announced cash for an extra 2,500 prison officers as those working on the front line warn the safety of jails is threatened by falling staff numbers and cuts.
News November 2, 2016 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…
News November 2, 2016 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.
News November 2, 2016 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…
News October 27, 2016 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.
News October 26, 2016 UK : criminals under 25 should not go to adult prison, MPs say ‘The Ministry of Justice has not clearly articulated to us why it has not acted decisively to develop a systematic new approach to young adults, given the weight of evidence’. Young offenders are still developing neurologically up to age of 25 and should be kept out of adult prisons, a group of MPs…
News October 24, 2016 UK : prison and probation 'must be overhauled to cut re-offending that costs taxpayer billions of pounds' Prison and probation services in England and Wales must be overhauled to drive down re-offending rates that cost the taxpayer billions of pounds, according to a report. Ministers were urged to push up staffing numbers and bring in legislation to establish a new rehabilitation “duty”.
News October 21, 2016 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 prison…
News October 14, 2016 UK : the hidden mental health crisis in women’s prisons From self-harming in groups to starvation and self-immolation, women are overwhelmingly more likely than men to hurt themselves while incarcerated. So why isn’t the prison system responding? Maria, 29, is a disability rights activist who uses a wheelchair. She also has borderline personality disord…
News October 5, 2016 UK : Juliet Lyon, ‘If the state takes away your liberty, it must keep you safe’ The almost 17 years Juliet Lyon spent as director of the Prison Reform Trust before stepping down in July was good preparation for her new role as chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAP). With figures last month showing violence and death in English and Welsh prisons at a…
News September 27, 2016 UK : prisons inspector slates HMP Bedford as 'abject failure' over standards It is easier to get illegal drugs than to get clothes or sheets in Bedford prison, where standards have declined to “unacceptable levels”, according to the new chief inspector of prisons. Peter Clarke, the former head of police counter-terrorism, said it was hard to understand how there had been “s…
News September 21, 2016 UK : prison violence at 'wholly unacceptable' level, ombudsman finds An official inquiry has criticised the “wholly unacceptable level of violence” in English and Welsh jails after a record six inmates were killed in 2015-16. A report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman into the six homicides also uncovered a 38% rise in the number of assaults involving a blade o…
News September 16, 2016 UK : prisoner died after jail staff "failed to treat his severe asthma" A prison inmate who suffered from severe asthma died due to “serious failings” in the way jail staff managed his medical condition, a coroner has ruled. Senior Coroner Andre Rebello has warned that unless lessons are learned from the death of Ashley Gil, the prison service may experience future fat…