Research on women in the criminal justice system

The Griffins Society was set up in 1965 to provide hostel accommodation for women leaving Holloway prison. The organisation went on to set up the first female-only bail and probation hostel, Kelley House, which is still open today. Over a period of 30 years the society developed five hostels for… Work with Offenders starts a new series on key independent organisations operating within the criminal justice sector, starting with the Griffins Society....

How has coronavirus affected the prison and probation services?

There has been a lot of discussion about the impact of COVID-19 on our penal system, with the consensus that our overcrowded, outdated prisons are virtual Petri dishes likely to guarantee the spread of the virus across the whole estate, affecting residents and staff alike. We know that the MoJ… Work with Offenders digs into the detail...

Prison radio and TV are a lifeline during coronavirus

It is hard to overstate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on people in prison. Most prisoners are being locked up for more than 20 hours per day. The most constructive parts of the prison regime – education, training, reducing reoffending programmes and gym – have been almost totally suspended.… Work with offenders looks at how prison TV and radio are informing and supporting prisoners throughout the COVID-19 pandemic...

Protecting children in care from criminal exploitation

The Howard League for Penal Reform is the oldest penal reform charity in the UK;  established in 1866 and is named after John Howard, one of the first prison reformers. Since 2016 the charity has been running a very successful programme of work to end the criminalisation of children in… Work with Offenders looks at the latest instalment of the Howard League’s campaign to end the criminalisation of children in residential care...

Releasing prisoners to combat COVID-19

The main subject of conversation in the criminal justice community over the last couple of weeks has been if and when the Government would decide to release prisoners early in order to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. There are a large number of reasons why such a move… Work with Offenders looks at the detail of the Ministry of Justice's plans...

Improvement in North East probation service

While both the prison and probation inspectorates have suspended their programmes of inspections due to the coronavirus pandemic, both organisations had already completed the fieldwork on a number of projects and are continuing to publish these reports. Yesterday, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation published an inspection report into the work… Work with Offenders examines the latest Probation Inspectorate report...

Preventing ill-treatment in prison

I am sure that many readers of this site have been thinking about those living and working in prisons more frequently than usual over the last few weeks. One organisation dedicated to the protection of prisoners is the UK National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). Last week the NPM published both its… Work with Offenders explains the work of the UK National Preventive Mechanism...

Can community hubs offer a better service to people on probation?

Her Majesty’ Inspectorate of Probation has significantly increased the range of services it offers over the last two to three years. Historically, HMI Probation has focused solely on inspection work with a combination of inspections into particular probation divisions/areas or on themes such as probation work with drug using offenders.… Work with Offenders examines the latest research and analysis bulletin from HMI Probation...

Will the government act on prisons and coronavirus?

Criminal justice and public health experts alike have become increasingly concerned about the risk that coronavirus poses to people in prison. Yesterday the World Health Organisation warned that prisons around the world can expect “huge mortality rates” from Covid-19 unless they take immediate action. The WHO recommendations include all visitors,… Work with Offenders looks at the options to protect prisoners from Covid-19...

Children’s experience of domestic abuse and criminality

Yesterday Dame Vera Baird, the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, published a literature review on children’s experience of domestic abuse and criminality. The report, authored by Julian Molina and Jade Levell, looks at children’s experiences of domestic abuse and their criminality, including childhood criminal exploitation, serious youth violence and… Work with Offenders looks at a new literature review from the Victims’ Commissioner...