Archive for November, 2009

What it means to desist from offending

I went to a meeting of the prison policy group in the House of Lords addressed by Professor Fergus McNeill from Glasgow University.  He was talking about “why people stop”, what it means to desist from offending.  He said desistance means stopping and staying stopped.  The key question is, how do you get from being [...]

November 5, 2009   Posted in: Rehabilitation, Uncategorized  2 Comments

Fig leaves for a failing system

Tomorrow a fanfare will sound from Hounslow as Jack Straw and Boris Johnson descend onto Feltham Prison for the official opening of a 30 bed unit for children.
The unit is part of Project Daedalus, a major element of the mayor’s Time for Action programme. It promises to deliver two ‘innovations’: an enhanced resettlement regime, designed [...]

November 4, 2009   Posted in: Children and young people, Government policy, Prisons, Rehabilitation, Uncategorized  One Comment

Inquiry into the role of the prison officer

The House of Commons Justice Select Committee has today published a report on its inquiry into the role of the prison officer, an inquiry triggered by a suggestion from the Howard League for Penal Reform last year. This thoughtful report is published with a press statement saying that there is:
“…a crisis in the prison system……..The [...]

November 3, 2009  Tags: ,   Posted in: Government policy, Prison officers, Uncategorized  No Comments

Evidence based policy

So we have to have government policy making based on evidence, apart from when it isn’t. I do understand that politicians have to balance scientific or other independent recommendations, on drug policy or other matters, with a range of sometimes contradictory influences. Drug policy is highly charged and politically sensitive.
Whilst the government is considering the [...]

November 2, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: Government policy, Rehabilitation  One Comment