What do the public think of the criminal justice system?

Yesterday, the Sentencing Council published one its regular surveys into the public’s understanding of and confidence in the criminal justice system. The survey was commissioned in January this year and undertaken by Savanta and is a follow-up to a similar survey conducted in 2018 and published in 2019. The findings… The 2022 study found that respondents who have had contact with the CJS were far more likely to say their experience was positive rather than negative....

The treatment of Black prisoners & Black staff

Today’s (13 December 2022) HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ thematic review into the experiences of adult black male prisoners and black prison staff is a landmark report. It highlights the fact that divisions between black prisoners and white prison staff are entrenched throughout the prison service, and that black prison staff… Inspectors interviewed 100 black prisoners, 17 key managers, including governing governors, and 66 other staff of all ethnicities....

Radicalisation and the Internet

Yesterday, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service published a new research  report which  presents findings from a quantitative study exploring the role of the Internet in radicalisation and offending of 437 convicted extremists in England and Wales. The report: “The Internet and radicalisation pathways: technological advances, relevance of mental health… The types of websites, platforms and applications used by convicted extremists has changed over time, with a steady decline in use of specific extremist websites/homepages....

Preventing deaths on arrest and in police custody

A new publication issued last week by the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC) says that Police forces, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), and health partners must improve practice to prevent deaths at the point of arrest, during, and after custody. The report has perhaps the longest formal… A new report brings together, for the first time, a wide range of policing practice across England and Wales ...

Focus on rehabilitation not longer sentences, says Ken Clarke

Tory former justice secretary and home secretary Ken Clarke has urged a reversal in the trend for increasing maximum prison sentences and a focus instead on rehabilitation. His comments followed criticism over a move to hold inmates in police cells after a surge in overcrowding in male prisons over the last few… Criticism follows need to use police cells to house people on remand ...

Change to Friday Prison Releases comes closer

Last week (ironically on Friday) Simon Fell MP, the Conservative MP for Barrow and Furness, spoke in parliament on the second reading of his Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Private Members Bill. The Bill, which is supported by the Government,  aims to introduce legislation which means that offenders scheduled… A Private Members Bill is the government’s chosen mechanism to implement the government’s pledge on Friday releases...

Prison overcrowding crisis

Official figures show that the prison system as a whole has been overcrowded in every year since 1994. Almost two in every three prisons in England and Wales are overcrowded (77 of the 120 prisons), with more than 15,900 people held in overcrowded accommodation—more than a fifth of the prison… We have always known that our prison system is overcrowded; it’s been that way for many years. ...

An economic evaluation of restorative justice

The research analysed the economic impacts of Restorative Justice interventions, including the impacts upon reoffending and its direct benefits to victims. What is restorative justice? Restorative Justice is a transformative tool that empowers everyone affected by crime to communicate and move forwards. Restorative Justice gives people who have been harmed… A new economic evaluation of Restorative Justice by the charity 'Why me?' compares restorative interventions for victims of crime and offenders with the conventional justice system. ...

MoJ set to trigger Op Safeguard again

Police cells could once more be used to house prisoners as the prison population continues to increase. Justice Minister Damian Hinds has today said that the MoJ has written to the NPCC to request the temporary use of up to 400 police cells. It’s part of an established protocol known… Operation Safeguard involves the use of police cells to hold prisoners. ...

Reading app developed to help prisoners

The app was developed as part of an innovation challenge run by the MoJ within its Prison Leavers Project. Called “Turning Pages Digital”, the app was jointly developed by tech company Yalla Cooperative and the Shannon Trust – a charity which will be familiar to a large number readers from… The Ministry of Justice has today announced a new app to improve the literacy of people in prison and give them a better chance of finding work on release....