Archive for October, 2008

A funny old week

It has been a funny old week.В  On Monday I was on my way to a debate at the US embassy (I have never been inside, just outside if you see what I mean) and found I had misread the invite and was an hour early. Listening to the car radio I heard that Bloc [...]

October 31, 2008   Posted in: Howard League  No Comments

Victims Commissioner a cynical diversion?

So Jack Straw is going to criticise penal reform groups, apparently the prison crisis is all our fault. He says that we don’t care about victims which is nonsense of course. His concern for victims seems to rest entirely on increasing prison sentences, and I am at a loss to understand how a sentence of [...]

October 27, 2008   Posted in: Government policy  No Comments

Ending violence against children in juvenile justice systems

I was in Brussels yesterday talking at an international conference on ending violence against children in juvenile justice systems, organised by Defence for Children International. It was interesting to hear the different experiences of representatives from Asia, India and the Americas. But most heartening was that everyone seemed to be working towards the same ends, [...]

October 2, 2008   Posted in: Inside prisons  No Comments