Comment
Coronavirus: empty the prisons, redevelop the land for the benefit of local communities
Today we heard the news of the first prisoner to die after testing positive for coronavirus. It was sadly not unexpected.
Comment
The worst place in the world
Before the Strangeways protests, children were incarcerated with adults.
Comment
Prison officer violence: The crisis of visibility
In recent times there have been increasing calls for zero tolerance of physical violence in prisons in the UK.
Project
Short prison sentencing
This project aims to identify the options, impacts and issues for impactful sentencing reform intended to reduce the use of short prison sentences.
There has been a lot of recent interest in this policy area. Last year, Scotland extended its presumption against short prison sentences. In England and Wales, plans to restrict sentencers' access to short term imprisonment were mooted but failed to progress. The case for reform has been made on...
News
Our Director in Probation Quarterly
Read Richard Garside on accidental liberalism and criminal justice trends
The latest edition of Probation Quarterly features a piece by our Director, Richard Garside, on criminal justice trends in retrospect and their signification of a flawed, accidental and incomplete liberalism.
Tackling fluctuating police numbers, the dangerous condition of...
Podcasts
Gavin Wilkinson on forensic psychology
In this week's podcast, Gavin Wilkinson discusses crime, prisons and his work with prisoners as a trainee forensic psychologist.
News
Fundamental rethink of prisons policy needed
Our Director, Richard Garside, yesterday called for a fundamental rethink of prisons policy after the release of a damning report from the National Audit Office.
Released today, the report concluded that the prison service was failing to provide a safe, secure and decent prison estate.
He said:
On just about every measure, the current
...
News
Our Director in The Times
Government proposals to scrap automatic release of prisoners halfway through their sentences is today being discussed in parliament.
The proposed legislation, if successful, will apply to offenders who have committed serious violent and sexual offences, who have been sentenced to life imprisonment and given a fixed term of seven years or more. These prisoners will serve two-thirds of their sentence before being automatically...
News
In the news this week
Our Director, Richard Garside, has been quoted in the New York Times and The Times this week.
In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on London Bridge last week by Usman Khan, The New York Times quoted Richard on sentencing policy. On the controversy surrounding Mr...
Comment
The potential of rehabilitative cultures
Dr Jamie Bennett introduces the latest edition of the Prison Service Journal concluding that support for rehabilitative cultures has emerged during the prison crisis
Comment
An editorial perspective on the latest Prison Service Journal
This edition of the Prison Service Journal is the culmination of a year-long collaboration...
News
End child imprisonment video by Open University
Child Imprisonment: Why we should abolish imprisonment for children and young people, the latest from the campaign to end child imprisonment, is a short documentary about the harms of depriving children of their liberty.
Dr David Scott interviews campaigners who have been personally affected by the issue, and Carolyne Willow, Director of Article 39.
David closes the video saying:
We need to think again about what we mean by child prison as a
...