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People want offenders to make amends, poll reveals

ICM survey results offer massive vote of support for community payback and restorative justice.

The results of an ICM telephone poll of 1,000 members of the public, conducted one month after the riots in England, show overwhelming popular support for constructive ways in which offenders can make amends to victims for the harm they have caused.

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Thomas Hammarberg: Prisoners should have the vote

07/04/2011 16:46:00

Thomas Hammarberg, the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, has underlined the position of the European Court of Human Rights that there should be no blanket ban on prisoners voting.

State must keep Care Not Custody promise

30/03/2011 10:43:00

We welcome the commitment of the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, and the justice secretary, Ken Clarke, to divert people with mental health needs away from the justice system where possible and to improve treatment and support in the community (£5m scheme to divert mentally ill offenders from prison, 28 March). Many men, women and children in prison have two or more mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, many others struggle with a learning disability, and significant numbers have severe and ongoing illnesses such as schizophrenia and personality disorders. Prison healthcare is too often a catch-all for people who would be better cared for outside the criminal justice system.

Ken Clarke and Andrew Lansley announce plans for ‘Care Not Custody’

29/03/2011 12:00:00

Following a three year campaign led by the WI in partnership with the Prison Reform Trust, the health secretary Andrew Lansley and the justice secretary Ken Clarke have announced plans for setting up a national service for the diversion of the mentally ill from the justice system into treatment and care.

Privatisation will not rehabilitate our prisons

28/03/2011 14:52:00

Ken Clarke's decision to award the security firm G4S the contract to run the 1,400-place Birmingham prison, announced in the House of Commons, has reignited the debate about the role of the private sector in our prisons. The UK already has the most privatised prison system in Europe. In England and Wales, nearly 10,000 prisoners (11.6% of the total prisoner population) are held in private prisons. This is a higher proportion than in the US, where the figure is around 9%. The privatisation of HMP Birmingham and the new private Featherstone 2 will take the total number of private prisons in England and Wales from 11 to 13, holding up to 14% of the total prison population.

The Justice Tests with Rt Hon Sadiq Khan MP

11/03/2011 11:03:00

On the 7 March 2011, the Prison Reform Trust in partnership with the Fabians hosted Rt Hon Sadiq Khan MP (Shadow Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice) as he delivered his first major speech on justice; outlining the future direction of Labour’s criminal justice policy review.

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Children with learning disabilities and other impairments are more likely to go to prison than other young people because the youth justice system is failing to recognise their needs, according to a major survey of youth offending team (YOT) staff.