Our latest eBulletin is now out
With so-called broken-windows policing appearing to come back into vogue, I was struck by this recent piece in The Washington Post, claiming that the whole proposition was 'founded on a lie'.
This is a contested area of policing, with many claims and counter-claims. With the government seemingly committed to a massive increase in police officer numbers, it is more important than ever that policing practice is grounded in evidence, not sentiment.
Richard Garside, Director
Early bird tickets: After Strangeways prison conference
Grab an early bird ticket while you can! They are on sale until the end of January for 'After Strangeways: The past, present and future of prisons' conference.
Speakers include:
- Alan Lord, One of the Strangeways protestors
- John Crilly, JENGbA Inside/Outside Campaigner
- Rex Bloomstein, Film maker
- Joe Sim, Liverpool John Moores University
- Eric Allison, The Guardian
- Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski, The Open University
- Jamie Bennett, HM Prison and Probation Service
- Eamonn Carrabine, University of Essex
- Deborah Coles, Inquest
- Mary Corcoran, Keele University
- Diane Curry, POPS
- Richard Garside, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies
- Gloria Morrison or Jan Cunliffe, JENGbA
- Kate Paradine, Women in Prison
- Elaine Player King’s College London
- Colin Prescod, Institute of Race Relations
- David Scott, The Open University
- Charlotte Weinberg, Safe Ground
- Patrick Williams, Manchester Metropolitan University
- Carolyne Willow, Article 39
Read more about the conference and buy tickets here.
Latest news and commentary
Does stop and search reduce crime?, a report we published by Ben Bradford and Matteo Tiratelli early last year has been cited by The Times in an article questioning the effectiveness of increased stop and search.
To 1945, 1979 and 1997 might be added 2019: a pivotal General Election with the potential to reshape policy and politics in the UK for a generation. What lies ahead for criminal justice? Our Director, Richard Garside, highlights the uncertainties ahead for criminal justice along with the opportunities for those committed to shrinking the criminal justice footprint, to make their case.
This month, Mike Guilfoyle remembers supervising Linford, who had professed a desire to 'go straight' and tried to stay out of the 'big house' after a difficult upbringing.
There is no way to humanely deprive people of their liberty for immigration purposes. In no other context could the right to libery be taken away from a group of people with so few safeguards. Rona Epstein explores detainment of asylum seekers and the attempts to push back against illegal imprisonment.
Prison Service Journal: 247
This month's edition of the Prison Service Journal is out now, with a focus on the annual Perrie Lectures. The theme of the lectures was 'What does leadership mean in prisons?'.
We value your support
Last year, around 20 per cent of our income came from generous donations by our members and supporters. If you value our work, please consider making a regular donation. Just £3 a month will help us to continue our vital work challenging criminal justice overreach and championing social justice solutions to the problems society faces.
And finally...
The challenge of justice reform is one of social and political imagination - envisioning how justice institutions might help extinguish rather than fan the flames of poverty, racial inequality, and violence in heavily disadvantaged communities. Mass incarceration failed as public policy precisely because it was divisive, eroding the social bonds of family and community. Public safety does not depend mostly on the work of police, courts, and prisons. Instead it is produced by a raft of social institutions - families, schools, employers, churches and neighbourhood groups, and the bonds of community - that regularize social life and promote daily routine.
'The challenge of criminal justice reform' by Bruce Western at The Square One Project