Comments & Speeches

Here was someone, I thought at the time, who was deeply serious about his work, without taking himself too seriously. His considered, evidenced and accessible explanation of a science-informed approach to drugs was one of the highlights of a conference studded with interesting presentations. When, a year later, we were thinking about who to invite to deliver our forthcoming 2009 annual lecture, David was top of the list.

Though prisons are portrayed as controlled and regimented environments, they are now out of control. In England, single-occupancy cells are crammed, often with two or three prisoners locked in 22 hours per day and eating only inches from their filthy toilets. 

I was pleased to be invited to speak at a workshop with exactly that hopeful title, organised by Haringey Council on 11 September.

Louise King, Director of the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (Just for Kids Law), hit the right note at the outset by explaining how the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provided a principled foundation for making sure that children in trouble with the law were dealt with outside a criminal justice setting.

Quite quickly it became clear to me that how we talk about transgender prisoners can itself be a barrier to debate, understanding and effective policy.

Some, for instance, reject the notion that the birth sex of transgender prisoners is a relevant consideration. As a result, referring to trans women as "male-born" is, for some, tantamount to transphobia.

Whilst working in an approved premise for people in the final stages of their sentences, I became aware of a new arrival. He was a 36-year-old man named Alan (not his real name). Before Alan arrived, he had spent 15 years in the criminal justice system. My boss at the time called me at home one Saturday evening to inform me that Alan would be with us on Tuesday. The purpose of the phone call was to summon me to a meeting first thing on Monday morning.