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Counting the costs of extreme lockdown in prisons
“They’re going grey in the face and are constantly tired and worn out. They haven’t had any sunlight.”
Comment
A welcome shift in the transgender debate
After the drama and toxicity of the transgender debate, yesterday was something of welcome anticlimax.
Project
Transgender prisoners
We have been working to encourage calm, respectful dialogue and discussion on the practical challenges of housing transgender individuals in the prison system.
Since the autumn of 2018, our Director has written a number of think pieces for our website and made various media interventions. In February 2019 the Centre's Trustees lead a process with the staff team, which resulted in the publication of a formal statement on transgender prisoners. It concluded...
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Let female prisoners decide who can share their spaces
Just under a year ago, I pitched into the debate over the housing of transgender prisoners.
Comment
Are transgender prison wings the answer?
The management of offenders is difficult at the best of times, but Prison Service policy has been severely tested by the growing number of transgender-identified prisoners.
News
This week in media appearances
It's been a busy week for our Director, Richard Garside, who has given his comments on a range of criminal justice issues.
In Tuesday's Guardian, Richard drew light on the geographical clustering of knife violence in an article by Jamie Grierson. ...
News
Conference cancellation: Prison abolition in the UK
We are saddened to announce that the conference, Prison Abolition in the UK, planned for 23 and 24 May, has been cancelled.
Unfortunately, one of our conference partners has, in recent weeks, been subjected to concerted pressure by those intent on disrupting the conference. In the circumstances, they felt they had no option but to pull out.
As an organisation, the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies walks the...
News
Statement on transgender prisoners
The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies focuses on the education of the public around issues relating to the criminal justice system across the UK.
We seek to encourage calm, respectful and informed public dialogue, where differing positions are explored and principled differences are recognised and discussed.
We base our positions on many years’ experience in the field of criminal justice, grounded in our values as an organisation....
News
'Not transphobic' to critique transgenderism
Our Director, Richard Garside, is one of more than 50 researchers and academics who have co-signed a letter expressing concern over the harassment and intimidation of those engaged in critical research and discussion on transgenderism.
According to the letter, published in The Guardian, a number of the co-signatories have 'experienced campus protests, calls for dismissal in the press,...
News
Centre's Director, Richard Garside on the BBC
In recent weeks our Director, Richard Garside, appeared on BBC Look North (Yorkshire) and BBC Radio Two's Jeremy Vine show to discuss Karen White's life sentence, prisons and transgender prisoners.
Karen White, a transgender woman with a conviction for indecent assault, indecent exposure and gross indecency involving children, was sentenced on Thursday after being placed in a women's prison and sexually assaulting two prisoners.
On BBC Look North, Richard said:
...
Comment
Gender Recognition must be grounded in objective evidence
As the Government Consultation on reforms to The Gender Recognition Act 2004 comes to a close, we should reflect on what is at stake. As a transsexual person I have a particular interest...
Comment
Transgender prisoners
Transgender prisoners – those, mostly males, who assert a gender identity at odds with their birth sex – pose a challenge for prison managers.