Inmates ‘forcibly strip-searched’ – BBC News

Posted September 28th, 2007 in news, prisons, young offenders by sally

“Young offenders are being forcibly strip searched according to a report by prison inspectors.”

Full story

BBC News, 27th September 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk  

‘Disaster area’ prison and probation agency to be scrapped in weeks – The Guardian

Posted September 28th, 2007 in news, prisons, probation by sally

“The government’s troubled £2.6bn programme to manage convicted criminals in order to cut reoffending rates is to be scrapped within weeks, the Guardian has learned.”

Full story

The Guardian, 28th September 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Crowded jails ‘threaten public’ – BBC News

Posted September 26th, 2007 in news, prisons by sally

“Overcrowded jails are presenting a threat to the public, the Chief Inspector of Prisons has told the BBC.”

Full story

BBC News, 26th September 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Multimillion pound “shambolic” penal agency to be axed – The Observer

Posted September 24th, 2007 in news, prisons, probation, rehabilitation by sally

“The government was accused last night of presiding over a ‘shambolic penal policy’ after it emerged it is to dismantle its multibillion pound flagship programme to protect the public and cut crime.”

Full story

The Observer, 23rd September 2007

Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk 

600 died in custody last year, report says – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 21st, 2007 in news, prisons, statistics by sally

“As many as 600 people died in custody last year in England and Wales, a new report is expected to say.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 21st September 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

New anti-terror jail to replace Paddington Green station – The Guardian

Posted September 21st, 2007 in news, prisons, terrorism by sally

“A new maximum security police station to hold up to 30 terrorism suspects ‘for protracted periods’ is being planned to replace the 1960s Paddington Green police station in London.”

Full story

The Guardian, 21st September 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Costs soar as convicts held in police custody – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 17th, 2007 in news, prisons by sally

“The Government has been forced to house more than 45,000 prisoners in police cells under emergency measures to ease the jail overcrowding crisis.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 16th September 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina v Montgomery – Times Law Report

Posted September 6th, 2007 in escape from custody, law reports, prisons by sally

Prisoner failing to return is not an escaper

Regina v Montgomery

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

“Where a prisoner who was on temporary release from prison failed to return to prison at the expiry of his release period, he could not be said to have escaped from custody and could not therefore be guilty of the common-law offence of escape from custody.”

The Times, 6th September 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk 

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication. 

‘Too few cells’ under prison plan – BBC News

Posted September 3rd, 2007 in news, prisons by sally

“Predictions for the prison population suggest government building plans may not provide enough cells for inmates.”

Full story

BBC News, 31st August 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

More prisons are not the answer to punishing criminals, says poll – The Guardian

Posted August 28th, 2007 in news, prisons, sentencing by sally

“A Guardian/ICM poll published today overturns the assumption that the public think tough prison sentences are the best way to tackle crime. It shows that a majority of voters think the government should scrap its prison building programme and find other ways to punish criminals.”

Full story

The Guardian, 28th August 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lack of assessment may lead to inmates’ release – The Independent

Posted August 21st, 2007 in news, prisons, probation by sally

“The prospect of dangerous prisoners being released was raised yesterday by a High Court Judge who ruled that an inmate should be freed because of lack of facilities to assess whether he remained a threat to the public.”

Full story

The Independent, 21st August 2007

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Crisis court cells ‘inadequate’ – BBC News

Posted August 20th, 2007 in courts, detention, news, prisons by sally

“Serious concerns have been raised in a new report into the use of a London court’s cells during the prison overcrowding emergency this summer.”

Full story

BBC News, 20th August 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Prisons facing fresh overcrowding crisis – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 15th, 2007 in news, prisons by sally

“Ministers are facing a new prison population crisis despite ordering the early release of thousands of inmates.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 15th August 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘Endemic squalor’ at Pentonville – BBC News

Posted August 9th, 2007 in news, prisons by sally

“A damning report into Pentonville Prison has revealed “endemic squalor” at the oldest Victorian era jail.”

Full story

BBC News, 9th August 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

£950m bill forces rethink on computer tracking of offenders – The Guardian

Posted August 9th, 2007 in news, prisons, probation by sally

“The future of the computer system that is supposed to keep track of 300,000 offenders a year who are in prison or on probation is in doubt after ministers halted the programme this week. The moratorium follows an admission that the original £234m costing ‘proved to be optimistic’.”

Full story

The Guardian, 9th August 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Offender Management Act 2007

Posted August 7th, 2007 in legislation, prisons, probation by sally

Offender Management Act 2007 published

Full text of Act

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

R v Montgomery – WLR Daily

Posted August 2nd, 2007 in escape from custody, law reports, prisons by sally

R v Montgomery 

Where a prisoner who was on temporary release from prison pursuant to r 9 of the Prison Rules 1999 failed to return to prison at the expiry of his release period, he could not be said to have escaped from custody and could not therefore be guilty of the common law offence of escape from custody.”

WLR Daily, 2nd August 2007

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.

Dangerous inmates may go free after court ruling on indefinite sentences – The Times

Posted August 1st, 2007 in news, prisons, sentencing by sally

“Hundreds of dangerous prisoners given indeterminate sentences could be freed from jail after a court ruled yesterday that holding them longer than their minimum sentence was unlawful.”

Full story

The Times, 1st August 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Prisons lacking parole facilities ruled unlawful – The Independent

Posted August 1st, 2007 in news, parole, prisons, sentencing by sally

“The Government’s problems in handling the crisis in the prison system were compounded today when the High Court ruled that the detention of prisoners with no facilities to assess their suitability for release was ‘arbitrary, unreasonable and unlawful’.”

Full story

The Independent, 31st July 2007

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Inmates left in limbo by failures in new sentences – judges – The Guardian

Posted August 1st, 2007 in news, prisons, rehabilitation, sentencing by sally

“High court judges yesterday dealt a fresh blow to the government’s handling of the prison crisis when they ruled that inmates serving new “open-ended” sentences had unlawfully been left in overcrowded local prisons without access to the compulsory rehabilitation programmes they need to secure their release.”

Full story

The Guardian,

Source: www.guardian.co.uk