Archive for the ‘Government policy’ Category

28 days

Professor Ken Pease astutely points out in a report published today for a right wing think tank that offenders are prevented from committing crimes against the general public while in prison (they can of course beat, scald, rape and attack staff and other inmates but let’s leave that aside.) But he suggests that keeping prisoners [...]

August 28, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Government policy, Headline grabbing, Overcrowding, Prisons, Sentencing, Uncategorized, Victims  One Comment

Policy developments

I haven’t got around to doing a blog for ages because we have been rushing around organising events. I am not going to comment on the hustings or conference on community sentences because there are detailed reports on the website, but there have been some interesting policy developments that are worthy of comment.
In the [...]

July 29, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Children and young people, Government policy, Headline grabbing, Uncategorized  No Comments

Real work in prison

We had a very interesting meeting with the new minister for prisons, Crispin Blunt, and subsequently sent him a briefing on work in prisons. Our conversation ranged broadly across penal policy and I am optimistic that Mr Blunt could turn out to be one of the most progressive and effective prisons minister I have [...]

July 16, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Government policy, Prisons, Uncategorized  2 Comments

Three good things

Yesterday was a good day. I went to hear Kenneth Clarke, the new secretary of state for justice, deliver his lecture to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies in King’s College. It has been well covered in the media so I won’t go over it again, just to say that we welcome his rational [...]

July 1, 2010  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Government policy, International  One Comment

Viva la rehabilitation revolution?

There has been a lot of talk in the criminal justice sector about a ‘rehabilitation revolution’.  This is the coalition government’s catchy phrase for its forthcoming justice reforms and many professionals are puzzling out what exactly a rehabilitation revolution might look like.  The coalition’s programme of government says:
We will [...]

June 22, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Government policy, Prisons, Rehabilitation, Sentencing  No Comments

Budget cuts

The BBC is reporting that tomorrow’s budget will include a promise to force local authorities to freeze the council tax. This may not be all the good news that the journalists are claiming. There are areas of local authority spending that have ramifications for individuals but also for how we all feel about [...]

June 21, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Children and young people, Government policy, Uncategorized  No Comments

Ken Clarke asks the question

I don’t often read the Daily Mail and cheer, but today the report that Kenneth Clarke is planning to cut the prison budget by slashing jail sentences was the best news I have heard in a long time. Also welcome was his comment that public fears over crime were overblown, although I am not sure [...]

June 14, 2010  Tags: ,   Posted in: Government policy, Prisons, Sentencing  One Comment

Making real savings

So Nick Clegg says he is going to bring in “a new approach to penal reform” which will end “mass criminalisation of young people” and Labour’s “build and fill ‘em approach to prisons”. He told the Guardian at the weekend that: “I’ll be doing this with Ken Clarke in the weeks ahead.” Good [...]

June 7, 2010  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Children and young people, Government policy, Uncategorized  2 Comments

A visit to Belfast

I visited Belfast yesterday at the invitation of Niacro to speak to MLAs following the devolution of justice. 
The lively meeting was held in a committee room in Stormont, an imposing building constructed in the 1930s reminiscent of the Italian style of the time.  MLAs from four political parties attended, along with the chief inspector, prison [...]

June 2, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Children and young people, Government policy, Inside prisons  No Comments

Criminalising children

And so two young boys, aged 10 and 11, have been found guilty of the attempted rape of an 8 year old girl. They will now be sentenced, most likely into child custody, and join the sex offenders’ register.
As I said before, criminalising young children does not help young victims and does nothing to enhance [...]

May 25, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Children and young people, Government policy, Headline grabbing, Uncategorized  2 Comments