Archive for March, 2009

Holloway prison getting worse?

The ITV programme about Holloway prison last night was really distressing.В  It was incredible the way that Chloe was treated.В  The voiceover saying how important it was not to talk to her after she had yet again tied a ligature round her neck and several prison officers had piled in to remove it.В  The staff [...]

March 18, 2009   Posted in: Inside prisons  No Comments

Future of prison staff investment

I am about to give evidence to the Justice Select Committee.В  This is my third select committee in as many months, and gruelling it is too.В  Today the committee is asking about the future of prison staff.
I was grilled for more than an hour by the Home Affairs Select Committee a couple of weeks ago, [...]

March 17, 2009   Posted in: Prison officers  No Comments

Most open-ended sentences in Europe

There are 5,059 prisoners serving an open ended sentence for public protection (IPP). They appear on the Prison Service computer as serving 99 years, scary. The average tariff specified by the court when they were sentenced is 2.97 years. There are still more going in every day, and since 2005 when the sentence was introduced [...]

March 12, 2009   Posted in: Sentencing  No Comments

Profit motive in prisons is corrosive

You may have caught the stories last week about the judges in Pennsylvania who took nearly ВЈ2 million from the private companies running the prisons for children. It has become known as “cash for kids” and the judges are themselves now facing serious charges and long stretches in prison. The scandal has focussed on the [...]

March 9, 2009   Posted in: Government policy  No Comments

Injuring yourself is not self-harm

We are very pleased that the Ministry of Justice has finally got its act together to appoint another chair for our public inquiry into the treatment of SP.В  But, they insist on talking about her “self-harm”.В  Self harm is smoking a cigarette or having one too many beers.
She was injuring herself, which is a whole [...]

March 4, 2009   Posted in: Self-injuring  No Comments