Lord Chancellor praises lawyers’ “heroic” efforts – Legal Futures

‘The Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland yesterday praised lawyers for their “heroic efforts” in trying to keep trials going during the coronavirus pandemic.’

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Legal Futures, 25th March 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Defendant jailed for five years after defrauding council of nearly £32k through Grenfell subletting claim – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 25th, 2020 in accidents, fire, fraud, housing, imprisonment, local government, news, prisons, sentencing by sally

‘A man who claimed to be a Grenfell Tower resident who was in hospital recovering from surgery when he was actually in prison at the time, has been convicted of fraud and jailed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Coronavirus: Inmates could be freed to ease virus pressure on jails – BBC News

‘The government is considering releasing some offenders from prisons in England and Wales to ease pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic.’

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BBC News, 25th March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Inquest jury concludes multiple failures at HMP Nottingham contributed to self-inflicted death of Ben Ireson – Garden Court Chambers

Posted March 23rd, 2020 in death in custody, inquests, juries, news, prisons, standards, suicide by sally

‘Benjamin Ireson, known as Ben, was a much-loved son, brother, uncle and friend to many. He was found hanged in his cell at HMP Nottingham on 13 December 2018. He was 31 years old.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 9th March 2020

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Prisons ‘could see 800 deaths’ from coronavirus without protective measures – The Guardian

Posted March 23rd, 2020 in coronavirus, death in custody, early release, health, health & safety, news, prisons by sally

‘Failure to protect the most vulnerable inmates in the UK prison system from coronavirus could result in more than 800 avoidable deaths, experts have warned.’

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The Guardian, 21st March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Coronavirus: What Happens To Prisoners? – Each Other

‘The UK government has urged the country to maintain “social distancing” as the coronavirus death toll rises. How does this work for the more than 83,000 people in Britain’s often overcrowded prisons?’

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Each Other, 19th March 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

Plan to extend early prisoner release scheme – BBC News

Posted March 17th, 2020 in early release, news, prisons, rehabilitation by sally

‘The government is planning to extend a scheme which allows some prisoners to be freed early to ease pressures in jails across England and Wales.’

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BBC News, 17th March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Lacklustre’ response to suicides at London jail despite warnings, report finds – The Independent

Posted March 13th, 2020 in drug abuse, news, ombudsmen, prisons, standards, statistics, suicide by tracey

‘A prison in London has shown a “lacklustre” response to self-inflicted deaths despite major warnings that it must improve and widespread concerns over failures across the penal estate to respond to inmate suicides.’

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The Independent, 12th March 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

De-radicalisation approach needs ‘fundamental review’ – Prison Officers’ Association – BBC News

Posted March 10th, 2020 in news, parole, prison officers, prisons, rehabilitation, terrorism by tracey

‘The Prison Officers’ Association has called for a “fundamental review” of the UK’s de-radicalisation programmes.’

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BBC News, 10th March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Serial rapist Joseph McCann could have been put back in prison weeks before rampage, report reveals – The Independent

Posted March 6th, 2020 in child abuse, news, parole, prisons, probation, rape, recidivists, sexual offences by tracey

‘A serial rapist who attacked a string of victims aged between 11 and 71 could have been jailed weeks before he started the rampage, a report has revealed.’

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The Independent, 5th March 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK freed 42 terrorists in year before law to detain extremists for longer – The Guardian

Posted March 6th, 2020 in news, parole, prisons, probation, proscribed organisations, statistics, terrorism by tracey

‘More than 40 convicted terrorists were released from prison in the year before emergency legislation was introduced to keep jailed extremists locked up for longer, figures reveal, while the number of far-right detainees has surged.’

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The Guardian, 5th March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

New support plan to improve jails – Ministry of Justice

‘A new intensive support programme will help challenging jails to improve safety and rehabilitation, Prisons Minister Lucy Frazer announced today (28 February 2020).’

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 28th February 2020

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Hammer-wielding trans woman escapes prison after judge hears there was no way to confirm her gender – Daily Telegraph

‘A trans woman who threatened shop staff with a claw hammer escaped prison after a court heard there was no way to confirm her gender.

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Daily Telegraph, 27th February 2020

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Alex Schymyck: Vulnerable Detainees in Prison Illustrate the Need for Consistency as a Ground of Review – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted February 24th, 2020 in appeals, detention, immigration, news, prisons, Supreme Court by sally

‘In R (MR (Pakistan)) v Secretary of State for Justice & Others, the High Court rejected a claim that the inequality in procedural protections available to vulnerable immigration detainees, which depend significantly on the venue of detention, is irrational. The nature of the decision, which fails to properly evaluate the reasons advanced for the difference, highlights two problems caused by the Supreme Court’s refusal to accept consistency as a ground of review in R (Gallaher Group Ltd) v The Competition and Markets Authority. Firstly, the lack of a clear framework for how irrationality should be applied creates a risk that judges accept tangential or irrelevant justifications for inconsistency. Secondly, by keeping consistency within the irrationality framework without any articulation of how separation of powers concerns fluctuate in different contexts, there is a risk of overly deferential decisions. In MR (Pakistan) both of these risks materialised with seriously deleterious consequences for immigration detainees held in prisons.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 24th February 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Prisons: what’s gone wrong & how to fix it – Counsel

‘An abysmal mess? What our prisons tell us about our country today – by Nick Hardwick.’

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Counsel, February 2020

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Case Preview: R (Maughan) v Her Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire – UKSC Blog

‘This case concerns the standard of proof applicable in inquest proceedings in cases of alleged suicide. It raises important and fundamental questions concerning the conduct of inquests, and will be of particular significance to bereaved families where the deceased is alleged to have committed suicide while in the care or custody of the state. The Supreme Court may also consider the position in relation to findings of unlawful killing.’

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UKSC Blog, 7th February 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

Two in five prisons in poor condition, watchdog finds – The Guardian

‘The government is failing in its efforts to improve prison conditions, with record levels of safety breaches and “huge” backlogs in repairs, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found. The National Audit Office said plans to “provide and maintain safe, secure and decent prisons” had not been carried out.’

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The Guardian, 7th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Crimes unreported as public lose faith in police – BBC News

‘Victims are no longer reporting some crimes to police because so many offenders are never brought to justice. A new report said the public are losing faith in the criminal justice system and have “rumbled” that police do not have the capacity to investigate.’

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BBC News, 7th February 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Jury finds serious failures at HMP Coldingley contributed to self-inflicted death of David Dunnings on IPP sentence – Garden Court Chambers

Posted February 6th, 2020 in inquests, news, prisons, suicide by sally

‘The inquest into the death of David Dunnings, 35, has concluded with the jury finding he died from suicide whilst at HMP Coldingley on 8 July 2017. He was serving an Indeterminate Sentence for Public Protection (IPP) and was significantly over tariff when he was moved to HMP Coldingley in September 2016.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 27th January 2020

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Number of self-harm incidents in prisons reaches record high – The Guardian

Posted February 4th, 2020 in news, prisons, self-harm, statistics by sally

‘Levels of self-harm in prisons have hit a new high, with more than 60,000 incidents in a year, official figures show.’

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The Guardian, 30th January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com