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

Challenges of international talks

The Howard League for Penal Reform was one of the very first non-governmental organisations to secure consultative status with the United Nations, way back in 1947, partly because we had been an active player with its precursor, the League of Nations.В  So it is interesting to watch the challenges being faced by nation states and [...]

December 17, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: International, Uncategorized  No Comments

The consequences of a political stampede on anti-social behaviour

The Guardian has a front page story today based on an ICM poll of voting intentions that the Conservative lead is down to 9 points over Labour. So the outcome of the general election is looking a lot less certain than in recent months. We could have a hung parliament, or a slim Labour lead [...]

December 15, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Government policy, Sentencing, Women in custody, anti-social behaviour  No Comments

Keir Starmer lecture on the role of the modern prosecutor

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, gave a lecture for the Howard League last night discussing issues about the role of the prosecutors in dealing with young people. There were plenty of references to his defence of the Human Rights Act and consequent media attention, but I was really pleased to see that [...]

October 23, 2009  Tags: ,   Posted in: Children and young people, Headline grabbing, Howard League, Uncategorized  2 Comments

Public services funding

There are several stories in the press this morning that caught my attention.
The front page of the Guardian says there is to be a decade of pain for public services.В  This will hit the prisons and other parts of the criminal justice system.В  And so it should because they are poor value for money .В  [...]

July 24, 2009  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Government policy, Police, Prisons, Sentencing  No Comments