Commenting on HM Inspectorate of Prisons Annual Report 2018-19 published today (9 July 2019), Mark Day, Head of Policy and Communications at the Prison Reform Trust, said:
“Mechanisms to ensure greater transparency and accountability are welcome and may help to drive some improvements in our overstretched prisons. But unless ministers are also held to account for decisions which have led to the UK having amongst the highest incarceration rates in western Europe, and a prison system which is chronically overcrowded and where too many establishments are simply not fit for purpose, many of our prisons will continue to fall short of even basic standards of safety and decency.”
All four National Police Air Service (NPAS) aeroplanes are now in the UK.
Two new aircraft were delivered last week from Austria, joining two that received their UK registration markings in April.
Work is underway for all four aircraft to achieve air worthiness and police operational certification - a process expected to take several months - before they can begin flying in support of police forces in England and Wales.
With a plethora of events coming up for custodial services, 999 workers and those involved in criminal justice, we offer a round-up including highlights of each. We will be attending some of the events and look forward to meeting you there.
Please contact us with any future events which you would like to be added to our diary dates. Email editorial@euromediaal.com
With eight former Staffordshire Police premises going on sale, property developers and occupiers are presented with the unique opportunity to acquire one or more of the properties.
Strategic property consultancy Jon Flowith & Partners has been instructed to market the eight buildings, which can be bought individually or as a group portfolio. They are located centrally within both town centre and affluent village locations, comprising attractive buildings and exciting development opportunities in:
HM INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS REPORT ON HMP BRIXTON
Commenting on today’s (2 July 2019) publication of the inspection report of HMP Brixton by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust said:
“There is much to praise in what has been achieved at Brixton by the Governor, staff and prisoners working together. But filling almost a third of the prison with men convicted of sexual offences was an expedient measure that did not have the best interest of those men at its heart. As intended, it will have contributed more than this report acknowledges to reductions in drug use and violence.
Jacqueline Hollows, the founder of Beyond Recovery CIC, discusses with The Custodial Review why she set up a social enterprise dedicated to helping prisoners realise their true potential…
Mental health and addiction Q&A
When was Beyond Recovery set up, and what was the driving force behind it?
Beyond Recovery was created as a social enterprise in February 2015 after I had a defining moment of realisation where I saw that the way addiction and mental health are treated and viewed need to be radically changed.
England and Wales send more people to prison each year than anywhere else in western Europe
There were more than 140,000 admissions into prison in England and Wales in 2017—the highest number in western Europe, according to a new report published today (24 June 2019) by the Prison Reform Trust.
The report Prison: the facts, reveals that, despite the number falling in recent years, England and Wales still have over 40,000 more admissions to prison than Germany, the second-highest—which has a significantly larger national population.
The comparative figures are taken from the latest available Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics.
Commenting on the Scottish Parliament’s vote to extend its presumption against the use of custodial sentences of 12 months or less, Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust said:
“The Scottish Parliament’s decision to extend its presumption against short prison sentences is not only extremely welcome, it follows the evidence. We know that short spells behind bars do little to rehabilitate, with higher rates of reoffending than more effective community alternatives, and many people leaving prison in a worse situation than when they first entered. With Conservative ministers considering the introduction of similar measures in England and Wales, there is an emerging consensus across parties and nations. It’s time to follow Scotland’s lead.”
Mark Bedding, Customer Relationship Manager at Chorus Intelligence, discusses the technology that can improve the digital disclosure process…
Disclosure is out in the open. It’s part of the national conversation following the collapse of a series of rape trial cases at the end of 2017 and start of 2018, when text and social media exchanges emerged that undermined the complainants’ accounts.
As the CPS recognises, disclosure weaknesses have become the prosecutors Achilles heel. But, for the vast majority of forces the technology that could make a difference to the quality and speed of disclosure is already in the intelligence room, and being used by their analyst colleagues.
The National Annual Report from the Independent Monitoring Boards was published recently, with the volunteer members reporting that the prison system is in a state of ‘fragile recovery’.
A lengthy period of staffing problems, increases in drugs and violence, and inadequate rehabilitation opportunities had added to an already stretched prison system’s problems.
In the report, Dame Anne Owers, National Chair of the IMBs, highlighted the impact of new psychoactive substances on prison safety, with a rise in violence and self-harm.