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. ...

The impact of online abuse and harassment

New research published today by the Victims’ Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird QC, brings into sharp focus the impact online abuse has on its victims. The findings come as the government’s Online Safety Bill, which promises to make the UK “the safest place in the world to be online”, is set… Work with offenders looks at new research from the Victims’ Commissioner...

Bridging the gap between prison leavers and employment

Richard Brice left prison “ambitious for social change”, and was the driving force behind Clean Slate Solutions, a Teesside charity which aims to bridge the gap between prison leavers and employers.  Following his release, he has gone on to help other prison leavers secure employment, with one of his first… After struggling with addiction, poor decisions, loan sharks and gambling, Richard Brice found himself facing a two year jail sentence. Having served eight months inside, he came out with a desire to help other offenders. ...

Children’s rights in the youth justice system

In recent years, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation has extended its role and become a major contributor to the evidence base which underpins modern probation work through a number of approaches. One of its most valuable is the “Academic Insights” series in which the inspectorate commissions leading academics to present… Work with offenders on the latest Academic Insight from the probation inspectorate...

Our growing love affair with tagging

Yesterday the Ministry of Justice published the electronic monitoring statistics for the most recent financial year; for the first time putting all the different data about different forms of tagging in one place. There are now a number of different tags in place: the basic tag used to enforce curfews,… Work with offenders on the latest electronic monitoring figures...