Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

The right to a fair trial

One of the fundamental rights upheld in Britain is the right to a fair trial. Jon Venables has not been found guilty of any new crime and should be treated as being innocent until it is proven otherwise. We don’t know yet whether he is even accused of a crime and if so, whether he [...]

March 11, 2010   Posted in: Government policy, Headline grabbing, Uncategorized  2 Comments

No discernable progress

I thought readers of this blog would be interested in some highlights (or lowlights indeed) on how children and young adults are treated in the prison system, according to the latest annual report of the Chief Inspector of Prisons:
Children
Although there has been a drop in overall numbers, the number of children serving long term sentences [...]

February 24, 2010  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Inside prisons, Prisons, Uncategorized  No Comments

Youth sentencing

The Prison Reform Trust has published statistics showing variation in the use of prison custody between youth courts across the country. Courts such as Bridgend, Rotherham (maybe it is to do with the food? remember that was Jamie Oliver’s shock horror television programme), Derby and Wolverhampton. The custody rates are not related to crime rates, [...]

February 16, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Children and young people, Sentencing, Uncategorized  One Comment

Rape is rape, wherever and whenever

Apparently most people think that in some circumstances rape victims should accept responsibility for being attacked. This raises some interesting questions about our attitudes to victims and crime. 
The law punishes a perpetrator of a fraud against an employer with additional severity because it is a breach of trust. Yet, when a woman is raped by [...]

February 15, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

Amnesty and platform sharing

Amnesty International is suffering some bad publicity because one of its staff has been suspended. She appears to be claiming that the organisation (don’t forget, Amnesty is not a charity) is linked too closely to a group called Cageprisoners, one of whose principal spokespeople is Moazzam Begg.  I don’t know if this is the case, [...]

February 11, 2010  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

We should not conduct torture nor should we be complicit

The foreign secretary has lost an appeal court bid to stop the disclosure of secret information relating to the alleged torture of Binyam Mohamed. This was a clash of rival principles, state security against the protection of human rights and prevention of torture.
In 2003 the UK signed up to the optional protocol to the United [...]

February 10, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Imprisoning charities

Yesterday morning I had a fascinating meeting with the Charity Commission about whether charities should manage prisons.  I went with Kevin Curley and others from NAVCA and met with Suzi Leather and her team.  We sought the meeting because we are concerned that two charities, Turning Point and Catch 22, have joined with Serco to [...]

February 3, 2010  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Government policy, Prisons, Public Services, Rehabilitation, Uncategorized  6 Comments

First past the post and excessive use of prison

I am about to change my mind. For years I have been a supporter of first past the post voting systems, mainly because of the constituency link. But the evidence, particularly from my professional life, is pushing me toward the conclusion that that very pillar of our democratic system is contributing towards an excessive use [...]

January 26, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

Some of today’s papers

Some of today’s papers have had a fit of over enthusiasm in attributing the prison ship story and I want to put the record straight.  Last week’s seminar in Oxford was a lively and robust discussion with students and Alan Duncan stuck to his party line – whilst using flavourful language as you would expect [...]

January 23, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  3 Comments

The naked rambler

The naked rambler, Stephen Gough, could spend the rest of his life in prison, in Scotland. Interesting that the English have decided that action should not be taken through the criminal justice system, but the Scots are pursuing him relentlessly. After spending a year in Perth prison, the police were waiting for him on his [...]

January 15, 2010   Posted in: Sentencing, Uncategorized  No Comments