Prisons ‘to remain at bursting’ says Jack Straw – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 27th, 2008 in news, prisons by sally

“Prisons will be at bursting point for the next two years, Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, has admitted. His disclosure will prompt fears that emergency measures, such as the use of police cells to house prisoners and early release schemes are here to stay.”

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Daily Telegraph, 27th March 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Prisoners were paid £730,000 in university grants loophole – The Times

Posted March 26th, 2008 in education, news, prisons by sally

“Prisoners have been paid student grants and loans totalling £730,000 while taking university courses in jail, the Government admitted yesterday.”

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The Times, 26th March 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Former lord chief justice condemns ministers over prison conditions – The Guardian

Posted March 17th, 2008 in criminal justice, news, prisons by sally

“The former lord chief justice, Lord Woolf, has launched a stinging attack on the government’s criminal justice and prison policy, blaming it for allowing prisons to get so crowded that offenders have little chance to reform and abandon crime.”

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The Guardian, 17th March 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Drug addicts ‘should not be locked up’ – The Independent

Posted March 17th, 2008 in drug abuse, news, prisons by sally

“Too many minor criminals with drug problems are being jailed and then receive poor treatment in prison, a damning report warns today.”

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The Independent, 17th March 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

NSPCC calls for end to abuse in custody – The Independent

Posted March 17th, 2008 in child abuse, news, prisons by sally

“Britain’s biggest children’s charity will tomorrow (17 March) launch a campaign demanding an end to ‘violent’ and ‘degrading’ assaults on children in custody.”

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The Independent, 16th March 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Inspector urges temporary closure of child jail – The Guardian

Posted March 17th, 2008 in child abuse, news, prisons by sally

“An unprecendented call for the temporary closure of a privately run child jail because of its ‘staggeringly high level of use of force by staff’ is made today by the chief inspector of prisons.”

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The Guardian, 17th March 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

R (Kelly) v Secretary of State for Justice; R (Bailey) v Secretary of State for Justice; R (Gibson) v Governor of Wymott Prison – WLR Daily

Posted March 14th, 2008 in law reports, prisons, probation by sally

R (Kelly) v Secretary of State for Justice; R (Bailey) v Secretary of State for Justice; R (Gibson) v Governor of Wymott Prison [2008] EWCA Civ 177; [2008] WLR (D) 84

Long-term prisoners who had been convicted of offences committed after 29 September 1998 and before 4 April 2005, and who after 4 April 2005 had been released on licence, recalled and then re-released having served three-quarters of their sentences, remained subject to licence conditions for the remainder of their sentences.”

WLR Daily, 12th March 2008

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

£40m to help boost community orders and control jail numbers – The Guardian

Posted March 12th, 2008 in news, prisons, probation, sentencing by sally

“An urgent cash injection of £40m to promote the use of alternatives to short prison sentences was announced yesterday by the justice minister David Hanson in the face of a prison population which stands at record levels of nearly 82,000.”

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The Guardian, 12th March 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar Chairman Calls For Policy Change: Boost in Drugs Rehabilitation Programmes to Tackle Offending Before it Happens – The Bar Council

Posted March 11th, 2008 in drug abuse, news, prisons, rehabilitation by sally

“Extra resources should be ploughed into prisons’ drugs rehabilitation programmes, the Chairman of the Bar said today.”

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The Bar Council, 11th March 2008

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Prisons, probation and the press under examination – Ministry of Justice

Posted March 10th, 2008 in media, prisons, probation, speeches by sally

“Jack Straw has given a speech to the Guardian Criminal Justice Summit on prisons, probation and the press.”

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Ministry of Justice, 10th March 2008

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

MPs urge curb on restraint techniques in child jails – The Guardian

Posted March 7th, 2008 in children, news, prisons, restraint by sally

“The use of restraint techniques involving deliberate physical pain in privately run child prisons should be abolished without delay, according to a report from MPs and peers published today.”

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The Guardian, 7th March 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

‘Bribe’ for foreign prisoners to return home triples to £3,000 – The Times

Posted March 5th, 2008 in deportation, news, prisons by sally

“A ‘bribe’ to persuade foreign prisoners to leave Britain has been more than tripled to £3,000 per offender by the Government as part of its drive to tackle prison overcrowding.”

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The Times, 5th March 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Prisoner release system ‘puts public at risk’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 5th, 2008 in dangerous offenders, news, parole, prisons by sally

“The public could be at risk because of the haphazard way potentially dangerous prisoners are being assessed for release, spending watchdogs have found.”

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Daily Telegraph, 5th March 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Anger as inmate flees open prison – BBC News

Posted March 4th, 2008 in news, prisons by sally

“Demands to know why a violent robber with 100 previous offences who has absconded from an open prison was there in the first place have been made.”

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BBC News, 4th March 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Conservative prison plans in full – The Guardian

Posted March 3rd, 2008 in news, prisons by sally

“Prisoners should be banned from watching television unless they have earned the right through good behaviour, the Tories said today. That was one of the detailed ideas in the 112-page ‘green paper’, Prisons with a Purpose, published by the Conservative leader, David Cameron.”

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The Guardian, 3rd March 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

How much do prisoners get paid? – BBC News Magazine

Posted March 3rd, 2008 in prisons, special report by sally

“David Cameron has proposed that inmates hand over part of their wages to victims of their crimes. So how much are they paid?”

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BBC News Magazine, 3rd March 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Officials warn of terrorist links to prison gangs – The Guardian

Posted March 3rd, 2008 in gangs, news, prisons, terrorism by sally

“The growing number of terrorist prisoners are forging connections with the existing gangs inside Britain’s high security jails to the alarm of senior Prison Service managers, according to internal Ministry of Justice documents.”

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The Guardian, 3rd March 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Prisoner seriously assaulted every 45 minutes in Britain – The Independent

Posted March 3rd, 2008 in assault, news, prisons by sally

“One serious attack takes place every 45 minutes in the overcrowded jails of England and Wales as prison staff struggle to cope with soaring levels of violence. Ministry of Justice figures reveal the number of assaults on prisoners by cellmates have rocketed from 1,790 in 1996 to 11,826 last year, a rise of 561 per cent in just over a decade.”

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The Independent, 3rd March 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Tories promise more prison places – BBC News

Posted March 3rd, 2008 in news, prisons by sally

“Five thousand extra prison places would be built by the Tories to beat overcrowding in jails in England and Wales, the party has said.”

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BBC News, 3rd March 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Nearly 18,600 inmates freed early – BBC News

Posted February 29th, 2008 in news, prisons by sally

“Nearly 18,600 prisoners have been released early under emergency measures introduced last summer to tackle overcrowding, the government has said.”

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BBC News, 29th February 2008

Sourcre: www.bbc.co.uk