Prisoners & PhDs: the organisation enabling greater access to further education

Following a successful pilot across 2021/22 which involved 50 students across 12 prisons on four different courses, the organisation is now preparing for their next academic year of study – with a target of 100 students.  By encouraging links between prisons and universities, DWRM looks to enable prisoners to study… DWRM ‘Doing What Really Matters’ is a social enterprise working to improve prisoners’ access to further and higher education, as well as supporting people to continue studying when they are released. ...

Review calls for wider access to Naloxone for prison leavers

Prison services need to ensure leavers who at high-risk of overdosing have access to naloxone the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has said.  The review said that the current supply of take-home naloxone is “fragmented” and that only a small proportion of opioid dependent prison leavers are provided… A review completed by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has acknowledged its ability to save lives and has now said there should be more availability for prison leavers....

Enormous court backlogs a fundamental challenge to justice

In her annual report published today, the Victims’ Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird, reflects on what she calls a “turbulent” year for the criminal justice system. The main challenges she highlights include: violence against women and girls (VAWG), the loss of trust in the police for many women and the scrutiny… Work with offenders on the Victims’ Commissioner’s annual report....

Sobriety tagging set to double in the next two years

The number of sobriety tags issued is set to double within the next two years following the recent release of positive statistics. Legislation introduced in May 2020 meant that offenders who were under the influence of alcohol when they committed a crime could be fitted with a sobriety tag to… The latest statistics show that the compliance rate of those fitted with tags to monitor their alcohol consumption was 97.2%. ...

We need to talk about serious crime

The Commission is chaired by Bishop James Jones, former Bishop of Liverpool and of Prisons, and former Chair of the Hillsborough Independent Panel. Its expert panel members include the founder of the Forgiveness Project Marina Cantacuzino; public health expert Dr Bill Kirkup; criminal barrister Michelle Nelson QC; former chief executive… The Independent Commission into the Experience of Victims and Long-term Prisoners has today called for a fundamental reassessment of the policy and practice of sentencing for the most serious of crimes. ...

MoJ to end Friday prison releases for most vulnerable

The Ministry of Justice has said that prisoners vulnerable to addiction, mental health issues or homelessness will no longer be released on a Friday. Instead, they will be released on the Wednesday or Thursday before their Friday release date – with strict security screenings in place. Ultimate decisions will lie… The Ministry of Justice has today announced a move to “significantly reduce” Friday releases from jail. ...

Some good news on prisons

When prison inspectors visited Feltham A Young Offender Institution in 2019, they found “a dramatic and precipitous collapse in standards”. The prison had become so violent and chaotic that the then Chief Inspector decided to invoke the urgent notification (UN) process – the first time it had been used in… Work with offenders on a new inspection into HMYOI Feltham...

Ongoing problems with tagging

This government has set out to be “tough on crime”, by increasing sentence lengths, restricting access to parole and a host of other measures. Amongst these measures, the MoJ regularly highlights its commitment to tag more people – on bail, community sentences and when released from prison (see our recent… Work with offenders on today’s National Audit Office Report...

Children in youth justice system missing out on education

Based on close analysis of 181 cases as well as consultation with 29 children in the youth justice system, inspectors found that two-thirds (65 per cent) of children (aged 10-17 years) had been excluded from school and almost half (47 per cent) had been permanently excluded. This resulted in some… A new report published today by HM Inspectorate of Probation, Ofsted (and its Welsh equivalent, Estyn) found that some children in the youth justice system have not participated in education, training or employment for two years or more...

Durham Community Peer Mentor scheme receives national award

Durham’s Community Peer Mentor scheme is funded by County Durham, Darlington Police, and Crime and Victims’ Commissioner Joy Allen. To date the service has helped more than 1,000 vulnerable people across four years. The scheme has six staff members and more than 100 volunteers – over 70 percent of whom… The community mentoring scheme has received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. ...