Most weeks His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons publishes reports on the state of individual prisons across England and Wales. Since the pandemic, almost all of these inspections have been severely critical of the standard of care provided to people incarcerated. Chronic staff shortages are the main (but certainly not the… Two inspection reports into the Long Lartin and Whitemoor maximum security prisons plumb new lows....
Today’s (5 April 2023) report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation into weekends in prison says that purposeful activity in prisons – that is access to education, employment, exercise or time out of cell to take part in meaningful activity – has never been as bad as it is now,… The inspectors found that the high levels of lock-up reported during the week continue in the weekend and, in most cases, were much worse....
Section 28 (s.28) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (YJCEA) 1999 allowed eligible witnesses to pre-record their cross-examination or re-examination before the trial. It was intended that the s.28 recording can be presented during the trial without the witness needing to attend and experience fear or distress about… The Ministry of Justice has today published new research evaluating the use of pre-recorded cross examination (Section 28) for intimidated witnesses....
The importance of perceptions of procedural justice (PJ) has been well documented in court, policing and prison settings as influencing a multitude of relevant outcomes, including cooperation and compliance with the law, rules and instructions, psychological wellbeing, and recidivism. PJ research in probation settings is, however, still in its infancy.… One of the most heartening findings was that people at the start of their probation period had poorer perceptions than those who were further along,...
Remote hearings have little impact on either the efficiency or the effectiveness of sittings, a new evaluation by the Ministry of Justice has found. Remote participation in court hearings has been an option for years – however, out of necessity, it was during the pandemic that courts saw a rapid… A Ministry of Justice report into the impact of remote hearings on duration and outcomes has found little meaningful differences either in efficiency or effectiveness compared with in-person hearings. ...
The study was commissioned to inform risk assessment and management guidance for prison and probation practitioners, and contribute to the future development of actuarial predictors of serious reoffending risk. It revisited a 2002 study on escalation to serious offending to investigate, in an individual’s criminal history, which offences are found… A new study published by the Ministry of Justice identifies the previous offences that were more frequently committed by criminals who ‘escalated’ to very serious offending....
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has today announced a new Victims and Prisoners Bill which aims to “cement victims’ voices at the heart of the justice system” and introduce stricter rules for releasing prisoners on parole. Victims measures The Bill will put the principles of the Victims’ Code on a statutory… The Bill will put the principles of the Victims’ Code on a statutory footing...
Domestic abuse can have a profound and lasting impact on children and young people who are exposed to it. As a result, it is essential that support services are available to help them cope and recover from the trauma they have experienced. In the UK, there are several organisations and… In the second of a series of articles on domestic abuse Anjum Mouj focuses on the impact that DA has on children ...
Entitled “Breaking Point”, the report demonstrates how the victims and survivors of some of the worst crimes imaginable are being made to wait years for their cases to reach court, having court dates postponed – often multiple times – and being kept in the dark about important updates. The report… The charity Rape Crisis has today published a new report on the re-traumatisation of rape and sexual abuse survivors in the Crown Court’s backlog of cases. ...
The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has today published the first analysis of strip searches of children conducted by police under their stop and search powers across England and Wales. The data shows the strip-searching of children s is not an isolated problem, limited to London. Across England and… The data shows the strip-searching of children s is not an isolated problem, limited to London....