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.
The purpose of our excursion was to hear a speech by the Justice Secretary, David Gauke, on the Ministry of Justice’s new Education and Employment Strategy.
I recently read Professor David Wilson's compelling memoir of his professional life working with violent men - especially those who have committed murder. His book reminded me of a particular prison visit I undertook when working as a probation officer.
During the intervening period interest has continued to grow and this edition attempts not only to take stock of the current state of play, but also to provide ideas,illustrations and advice that are deliberately intended to shape practice.
Working in a residential rehabilitation unit for people who had become dependent upon illegal drugs in addition to a diagnosed mental health problem, I became aware of a new arrival. He was a 40-year-old man named Frank (not his real name). Frank had a long-standing diagnosis of depression and had been dependent on heroin for over five years.
Roger Grimshaw examines the government consultation on a public health duty to address serious violence
Roger Grimshaw comments on the latest briefing from the College of Policing
The state exemplifies the failure to understand how structural, cultural, institutional and personal forms of racism and discrimination intersect and manifest in black people’s experience of everyday life, says Professor Gus John on the aftermath of the Macpherson Inquiry
This month Mike Guilfoyle offers a glimpse of how probation officers, in practice, supervise and help to rehabilitate those convicted of sex offences
The unthinking acceptance of prisons as inevitable social institutions is preventing us from thinking beyond them, argues Richard Garside
Co-editor of the latest edition of the Prison Service Journal, Charlotte Weinberg, introduces the rationale behind the journal's theme of prisons in crisis