Foreign prisoners face early deportation – Daily Telegraph
“The Government is to combat prison overcrowding by deporting foreign prisoners earlier than scheduled.”
Daily Telegraph, 21st February 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Category: prisons
Ban on children held in prisons – BBC News
“The Scottish Government is to scrap laws which allow children under 16 to be held in jail without having been convicted of an offence.”
BBC News, 21st February 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Jail move over open-ended terms – BBC News
“Prisoners on a type of open-ended sentence in England and Wales are being moved to lower-security prisons, to try to ease pressures in the system.”
BBC News, 19th February 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Seeking solitary: prison gang wars force fearful inmates to plead for segregation – The Guardian
“The segregation units in Britain’s high security prisons used to be full of prisoners being punished for breaking the rules or being held in solitary because they were too dangerous to mix with others.”
The Guardian, 18th February 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Get prisoners into open jails, governors told as cells fill up – The Guardian
“Prison governors have been told to move as many inmates as possible to open jails as an emergency response to the latest surge in prisoner numbers, which have reached a new record of 81,681 in England and Wales.”
The Guardian, 12th Febraury 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
R (Walker) v Secretary of State for Justice – WLR Daily
R (Walker) v Secretary of State for Justice; R (James) v Same [2008] EWCA Civ 30; [2008] WLR (D) 28
“The Secretary of State for Justice acted unlawfully in failing to provide courses which would allow prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection to demonstrate to the Parole Board by the expiry of their minimum terms that it was no longer necessary for the protection of the public for them to be confined.”
WLR Daily, 5th February 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Prisoners routinely bugged as jails fall in shadowy area of surveillance – The Times
“Dozens of prisoners in British jails are routinely under covert electronic surveillance, security sources told The Times last night.”
The Times, 5th February 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Oral statement on HMP Woodhill inquiry – Ministry of Justice
“Jack Straw has made an oral statement to the House of Commons on an inquiry into alleged events at Woodhill Prison.”
Ministry of Justice, 4th February 2008
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Illegal bug uncovered in second UK prison – The Times
“Bugging devices planted in a prison telephone were illegally used to record privileged conversations between an inmate and his solicitor, The Times has learnt.”
The Times, 5th February 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
The short and desperate life of Petra, the girl nobody helped – The Observer
“Petra Blanksby killed herself aged 19 after she was jailed for arson – she had tried to burn herself following years of abuse. Now the coroner at her inquest is urging changes in the prison service.”
The Observer, 3rd February 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Court rulings to force parole and prison changes – The Guardian
“The justice minister, Jack Straw, suffered two embarrassing defeats in the court of appeal yesterday, which will force him to pour millions of pounds into the prison and parole system.”
The Guardian, 2nd February 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Prison policy update – briefing paper – Ministry of Justice
“This briefing paper on the government’s prison policy provides an update on the prison building programme announced in December 2007, and outlines the further steps we are taking in the specific areas of drugs, prison work and alternatives to custody.”
Prison policy update – briefing paper (PDF)
Ministry of Justice, 31st Janaury 2008
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Straw aims for cut in reoffending – BBC News
“The justice secretary has said fresh prison reforms will cut reoffending rates, reduce drug use in jails and give more skills to offenders.”
BBC News, 31st January 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
16,000 prisoners freed early, ministry reveals – The Guardian
“More than 16,000 prisoners have been freed early – including 3,000 guilty of violent crimes – under a government scheme to cut jail overcrowding, the justice ministry revealed today.”
The Guardian, 31st January 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Straw hesitates on prison plan after critical report – The Guardian
“Jack Straw today appeared to back away from plans to build a new generation of 2,500-person ‘Titan’ jails after criticism from the chief inspector of prisons.”
The Guardian, 30th January 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Inspector criticises rush to build jails – The Guardian
“The government’s “scramble to build new prisons” threatens to move the UK towards a system of ‘large-scale penal containment’ which would mean worse as well as more jails, the chief inspector of prisons warns today.”
The Guardian, 30th January 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Crowded prisons mean more held in police cells – at a cost of £459 a night – The Guardian
“Prisoners who are held in police cells as a result of jail overcrowding are costing the taxpayer £459 a night, figures released today show.”
The Guardian, 28th January 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Straw sets out plan for tougher sentencing – The Independent
“Jack Straw, the Secretary of State for Justice, is to unveil plans to merge the prison and probation services into a US-style ‘Department of Corrections’ to try to get to grips with sentencing and the management of offenders in custody and in the community.”
The Independent, 27th January 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Jail review ordered after rape by inmate – Daily Telegraph
“Ministers ordered a review into open prisons yesterday amid public outcry over the rape of a 16-year-old schoolgirl by a prisoner on the run.”
Daily Telegraph, 25th January 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Sixth of prisoners waiting to be tried – The Independent
“A sixth of all prisoners held in England and Wales have not been found guilty of any offence or are waiting to be sentenced, says the first report to investigate pre-trial detention across the world.”
The Independent, 23rd January 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
