Justice system still struggling to recover from the pandemic

The Ministry of Justice and the Office for National Statistics today published its quarterly criminal justice bulletin covering the main activities in the justice system up to the end of 2022. The figures show rises in the number of people dealt with by the criminal justice system but activity levels… The number of prosecutions for indictable offences fell by 3% compared to last year, which may be attributable to the industrial action taken by barristers last summer....

Prison and probation staffing pressures ease slightly

Today’s HMPPS quarterly workforce figures for March 2023 made for less dismal reading than usual with small increases in the number of frontline prison and probation staff. There are actually more trainee probation officers (PQiPs) than (the considerable number) of probation officer vacancies which may give some hope for those… Given the latest target headcount of 6,158 there is an overall national shortfall of 1,745 probation officers against the required staffing level, a vacancy rate of 29%....

Women still sent to prison for being mentally ill

Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) monitor and report on the conditions and treatment of those detained in every prison in England and Wales. Boards in women’s prisons have repeatedly reported on high levels of mental health need and self-harm incidents. This briefing sets out Board findings from seven women’s prisons with… In National Mental Health Awareness week, the Independent Monitoring Boards have again drawn attention to the high level of mental health need and self-harm incidents in women’s prisons...

Concerns over prison resettlement

Today’s report by the National Audit Office “Improving resettlement support for prison leavers to reduce reoffending” makes for predictably grim reading. The report not only concludes that the government is not consistently supporting prison leavers in resettling into the community but finds that the quality of services has declined in… The National Audit Office has highlighted that HM Inspectorate of Prisons did not rate any prisons as ‘good’ for rehabilitation and release planning in 2022-23,...

Sir John Major criticises penal policy

Yesterday evening the former Prime Minister, Sir John Major delivered a speech at the Old Bailey in which he set out his case for penal reform. In a Prison Reform Trust lecture, Sir John acknowledged that the problems now being faced within the penal system have intensified over many governments,… “We over-use prison and under value alternative sentences”...

Prisoners: the forgotten workforce

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) was founded in 2004 by the former Conservative Party leader Ian Duncan Smith. Although it describes itself as an independent think tank, it, quite naturally has very close links with the Conservative Government. Indeed, the Prisons, Parole and Probation Minister, Damian Hinds, has authored… A new report published today by the Centre for Social Justice looks at addressing our national labour shortage by using the mainly untapped workforce currently in prison...

Youth custody getting increasingly dangerous

The latest Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate (CYPSE) statistical bulletin makes for a worrying read. The headline figures which cover children and young people in Secure Children Homes (SCH), Secure Training Centres (STCs) and Youth Offender Institutions (YOIs) are set out below. To put things in… Worrying assault and self harm figures covering the Children and Young People Secure Estate have been published ...

Convicted terrorists face new rules to prevent radicalisation behind bars

Convicted terrorists will no longer be able to take leading roles in religious services and face more rigorous check for extremist literature. The new measures are aimed at preventing radicalisation within prisons and follow Jonathan Hall’s review ‘Terrorism in Prison’ published last year. As a consequence, terrorists will no longer… The new measures will include a ban on convicted terrorists taking leading roles in religious services of all faiths. ...

Identifying and responding to sexual violence

Sexual violence can take many forms, including rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. It is important to be aware of the signs of sexual violence, which can include physical injuries, changes in behaviour, or emotional distress. Rape: A person (A) commits an offence of rape if: he intentionally penetrates the… Continuing a series of articles for WWO, Anjum Mouj says Identifying and responding to sexual violence is crucial to providing support and justice to survivors. ...

Supporting children's compliance on community supervision

The new “Academic Insight” report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation is authored by Mairéad Seymour from Technological University Dublin and focuses on compliance and strategies that pro-actively support and encourage substantive compliance by children and young people. The Academic Insight series is aimed at people interested in research and developments… Research shows that for many youth offenders the threat of a return to court for being non-compliant holds limited power and alternative approaches are required. ...