eBulletin, 29 August 2025

eBulletin, 29 August 2025
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Our latest eBulletin, sent out to subscribers on Friday, 29 August

Is it time for a rethink on the way criminal justice reformers do criminal justice reform? 

Government plans to shake-up sentencing, due out next month, are expected to include a further toughening of community sentences and a Texas-style “earned progression model” for prisoners. A number of reformers, rightly in my view, worry that the shake-up could make the prisons and wider criminal justice crisis worse, not better. 

We explored the pros, and the many cons, of recent Texas prisons policy in July, in a special event with US sentencing and prisons expert Michele Deitch. You can watch the discussion here.

Beyond the specifics of the earned progression model, and the wisdom of following the lead of high-incarceration jurisdictions like Texas, I do wonder whether our current approach to discussing, and advocating for, prison and wider criminal justice reform, is working.

One of the problems, I think, is that reformers have tended to approach the public and politicians like visiting missionaries: intent on converting them to their way of thinking. “If we could just share these facts with you”, the message seems to be, “then you’ll understand why you are wrong, and why we are right”.

I parody somewhat of course, but only somewhat. For all sorts of reasons, a missionary approach is probably not going to be very successful, if it ever was.

As we enter what is looking like a period of heightened populist demands for tough policies and tough action – linked in part to claims and concerns about immigration – it would be as well for criminal justice reformers to reflect on their current approaches.

In particular, reform organisations should get better at reflecting on why it might be that so many members of the public appear open to what reformers might consider to be punitive or counter-productive policies, and why so many politicians champion them.

They should be spending more time thinking afresh about what policies are needed in response to the coming challenge, and less time worrying about how they might better communicate long-standing policy commitments that, to be frank, do not have traction with the public or politicians.

Listening empathetically, being on receive, as well as broadcast, is crucial. Smart and bold, yes. But also self-critical and less patronising with those who disagree.

It would also be helpful if ministers got over themselves somewhat, and accepted that a vibrant, independent criminal justice reform sector, confident about telling them things they do not want to hear, is a strength and a resource to draw on.

In a parliamentary democracy such as the UK, it is easy for power to become deaf to critical challenge, treating it as an irritation or sign of disloyalty. This is why it is important that the voice of the reform sector is confident and bold, but also self-critical and open to fresh thinking.

Richard Garside
Director

Approach with caution

The video for our July event – ‘Approach with caution: Does the UK have anything to learn from Texas?’ – is now available on the event page. Watch the video to hear the thought-provoking presentation and discussion with Michele Deitch, one of the foremost US experts on prisons and sentencing policy.

Smaller, but tougher 

In July we published a report that draws out trends for young adults in the criminal justice system for more serious offences (defined here as indictable or triable either way) over the last 15 years and highlights disparities across gender and ethnicity. Smaller, but tougher: How the criminal justice system is processing young adults finds that:

  • While numbers have declined, those young adults who are prosecuted have been increasingly more likely to be remanded, less likely to get a community sentence, and more likely to get a prison sentence (and go to prison for longer).
  • Young men are more likely to be remanded and sent to prison but young women are more likely to be remanded for offences that did not ultimately lead to a prison sentence.
  • It appears that ethnic disparities have sharpened over time but it is hard to get the full picture because the quality of ethnicity data is decreasing.

We would like to acknowledge and thank the Transition to Adulthood Alliance, convened by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, which supported the production of this report.

Understanding Dual Contact for Women 

In the sixth paper in our series of Working Papers, Kirsty Kitchen discusses the overlooked overlap between the criminal justice system and children’s social care, focusing on pregnant women and mothers of infants. She highlights how dual contact – simultaneous involvement in both systems – often results in trauma, disruption of maternal bonds, and long-term adverse outcomes for children, particularly in their first 1001 days.

Our Working Paper series publishes research and analysis of an exploratory nature. Working papers are not formally peer-reviewed, but are intended to stimulate reflection and discussion on current and relevant areas. For more information on the series, and how to propose a paper, please visit our guidlines page. 

Mike Guilfoyle Essay Prize 

In our last eBulletin in June, we were delighted to announce the winners of the Mike Guilfoyle Essay Prize, last month we published the Commended essays. All winning articles are now available to read:

This annual competition honours the legacy of Mike Guilfoyle, a dedicated probation officer and active Napo member, by encouraging reflections on all that is valuable and important in probation.

This year’s essay question was What does professionalism mean in probation? 

Congratulations to this year's winners, and to everyone who sent in a submission. Additionally, thank you to our judging panel, who comprised of Ben Cockburn (NAPO National Chair), Ruth Bloomfield (MOPAC), Paul Weatherstone (Probation Service), and Jake Phillips (University of Cambridge).

Stay tuned for details of the 2026 essay prize, which we’ll be announcing later this year.

Why staff wrongdoing is a problem for all staff and prisoners

Writing in Inside Time this month, our Trustee Dr Bronwen Frow-Jones draws on her research to show how even the smallest incidents of rule-breaking can escalate to full-scale corruption. She explains how some rules, which are not formal but are part of training, are designed to establish professional staff relationships with prisoners, creating the boundaries that allow them to remain friendly but not friends. When these rules are inconsistently applied, Frow-Jones explains, there is the potential for unstable work environments and it can lead some staff on a slippery slope to more serious wrongdoing.

IPP Bill debated in the House of Lords

In June we mentioned that Lord Woodley’s Private Members’ Bill, Imprisonment for Public Protection (Re-Sentencing) Bill was due to be debated in the House of Lords on the 4th of July. The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies has been supporting Lord Woodley in this important work and produced a briefing for parliamentarians in advance of the debate. The briefing can be downloaded here.  

If you would like to share your thoughts, please drop us a line. 

OWHRs and DVRs

Last month, a review into Domestic Homicide Reviews (DVRs) found that recommendations are not being implemented. The findings reminded us of a report we published this year, Learning from Tragedy by Dr Susie Hulley and Dr Tara Young, which highlighted the potential benefits and risks of Offensive Weapons Homicide Reviews (OWHRs). In a subsequent roundtable we hosted in March, a main point of the group discussion was precisely how learnings from reviews could be effectively implemented.

Commentary and analysis

Last month, Janet Carter outlined the Leveson Court review recommendation to create a new branch of the Crown Court and offered an alternative proposal.

Later that month, Arabella Kyprianides and Thiago R. Oliveira drew on the results of their recent study to explain how early encounters with police can carry unintended, long-term consequences.

Interested in submitting a comment piece? Drop us a line.

What’s what in The British Journal of Criminology? 

For more than sixty years, The British Journal of Criminology has published some of the most significant research in the field.

A number of open-access advance articles have been published this summer:

New edition of Prison Service Journal 

July's issue of the PSJ (edition 279) includes articles by Oscar O’Mara and others on ventilation in prison, Charlotte O’Brien and Guy T on life sentenced male prisons, and Reza Barmaki on incarcerated indigenous individuals in Canada.

Prison Service Journal Archive

We are in the process of digitising and uploading the entire back catalogue of Prison Service Journal, from the first edition in 1960. A complete run from 1960 to 1991 is currently available, alongside a complete run from September 2010 to the present day.

This month the PSJ editors have highlighted articles from editions 4 through 6.

Edition 4

The PSJ editors reflect:

"It’s quite ironic that in the 4th edition of the PSJ (Jan 1962), the article entitled Research in penal institutions, discusses whether ‘prison research done by ‘prison personnel in contact with prisoners’ is necessary, or whether research should be conducted by academic teams."

Edition 5

This article, in edition 5 of the PSJ (1962) describes some of the changes to the meals prepared and served in prisons over 20 years:

“Instead of officers serving food at cell doors, serving points were introduced at strategic positions in the hall or wings, and inmates were given their individual tins of food to carry to their cells.”

“The diets had never in the history of prisons contained any fresh fruits, but this was altered and Governors are authorised to spend fourpence per head per week on fresh fruit.”

“In no walk of life outside the prison are the efforts of a cook more criticised. He has to satisfy all of the inmates all of the time and he is well supervised. The Governor, Medical Officer, Steward, Visiting Officers, Visiting Magistrates and Committees are all interested in the food, and the cook has to satisfy them all.”

Edition 6

This article, in edition 6 of the PSJ (1963), L. J. Barnsdale describes the relationship that developed between a school for blind children and prisoners at Walton prison (now HMP Liverpool) when school text books needed to be translated into braille. One of the men involved describes the sense of satisfaction from this work:

“this is one of the most self satisfying things I have ever done in my life, I cannot remember doing anything that has afforded me greater pleasure knowing as I do that I am helping in some small way these young blind children”.

L. J. Barnsdale reflects:

“I think as far as the prisoners themselves are concerned this project does allow them in some measure to regain their self respect. They feel that they are again a useful and necessary part of the community.”

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