Government details latest move to tackle prison overcrowding
The government has this morning announced emergency measures to ease prison overcrowding by re-activating Operation Early Dawn. Through this mechanism, offenders will be summoned to a magistrates’ court only when it is confirmed that a cell in the prison estate is ready for them, should they then be remanded into custody. Instead they will be […]
Chaos in prisons – but the minister goes part time
We’re facing a prison crisis – so why has the prisons minister position gone part time and unpaid?
Prison system deteriorating under Grayling, chief inspector says
Standards in British jails deteriorating to a “significant” degree, chief inspector of prisons warns
Damning prison report: Prisoners go without showers for months
A new inspection report by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons on the state of Winchester prison has revealed neglect and abuse of inmates including disabled prisoners sharing single-person cells and being unable to shower for months.
‘Virtual prison’: Community sentences could be strengthened
No 10 could force justice secretary Ken Clarke to turn community sentences into a ‘virtual prison’ for offenders, according to reports.
Labour admits sending too many to jail
Labour has admitted that it sent too many people to jail while it was in power and failed to tackle reoffending.
Early release scheme ended
By Ian Dunt The early prisoner release scheme will be halted, the justice secretary confirmed today. Jack Straw told the Commons the scheme would be phased out by March 12th, with the last inmates freed on April 9th. Shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve said the timing of the phase-out was suspicious. “What in less than […]
End short term sentences say prison governors
By politics.co.uk staff Prison governors are proposing the abolition of prison sentences of less than a year it was revealed today. At its annual conference later today, the Prison Governors’ Association (PGA) will call for short term sentences to be scrapped because they are failing to reform criminals and leading to record overcrowding in jails. […]
Overcrowded prisons ‘act as a university of crime’
By Liz Stephens Overcrowded prisons and high reoffending levels are being deliberately overlooked by ministers according to a damning report published today. The Prison Reform Trust published figures showing some prisons are housing almost double the number of prisoners they were intended to hold. The Trust also found that overcrowded jails were not preventing re-offending. […]
MPs savage UK Parole Board
By Ian Dunt An influential committee of MPs has savaged the UK’s Parole Board, saying members are coming under pressure to make decisions on serious offenders without key information. MPs said the prison and probation services had proven unable to provide the timely and complete information necessary for the parole system to run effectively. “The […]
