Prisons merge to create new jail – BBC News
“Three West Midlands prisons will merge to form one of Britain’s biggest jails, the Prison Service has announced.”
BBC News, 22nd January 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: prisons
Jack Straw may relinquish prison powers – The Times
“Jack Straw is to consider giving up his power to block the transfer of long-term offenders, including murderers, into open prisons in preparation for their release.”
The Times, 21st January 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Jail experts to tackle suicide surge – The Observer
“A specialist investigation team is to be sent into one of Britain’s high-security jails after five of its prisoners committed suicide in just over a year.”
The Observer, 20th January 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Private jails ‘worse than public’ – BBC News
“Privately-run prisons perform worse than those run by the public sector, a document leaked to the BBC suggests.”
BBC News, 19th January 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Tag-a-lag: Chip implants mooted for UK prisoners – The Register
“The Ministry of Justice is planning to solve the crisis in the UK prison system by fitting prisoners with surgically implanted tracking chips, claims the Independent on Sunday, citing a senior Ministry official. The chips, claims the paper, would be used to keep order in prison and to enforce home curfews.”
The Register, 14th January 2008
Source: www.theregister.co.uk
Early jail releases reach 14,000 – BBC News
“Almost 14,000 prisoners have been freed early from jail to ease overcrowding, Ministry of Justice figures show.”
BBC News, 11th January 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Warning on high-risk transfers to open jails – The Observer
“Increasing numbers of high-risk prisoners are now being moved to open jails after they have served only small portions of their sentences in secure conditions, in an apparent breach of official guidelines.”
The Observer, 30th December 2007
Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/
Inmates to be locked up longer to cut costs – The Independent
“Prisoners are to be locked in their cells every Friday afternoon because of a government cash squeeze.”
The Independent, 13th December 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Prison service ‘failed’ woman who killed herself – The Independent
“The grim pattern to Louise Giles’s short life was set at the age of 13 when she took her first overdose.”
The Independent, 8th December 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Plan to close 15 women’s prisons so inmates can be closer to home – The Times
“The Government is supporting a proposal to close 15 women’s jails and replace them with a network of small custodial units that will allow female prisoners to be held closer to home.”
The Times, 7th December 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Securing the future: Proposals for the efficient and sustainable use of custody in England and Wales – Ministry of Justice
“Lord Carter’s review of prisons, which gives options for improving the balance between the supply of prison places and demand for them and recommendations on how this could be achieved.”
Securing the Future: Proposals for the efficient and sustainable use of custody in England and Wales (PDF)
Ministry of Justice, 5th December 2007
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Three supersize prisons housing 2,500 each will be built to tackle overcrowding crisis – The Guardian
“The government is to build up to three supersize prisons, holding about 2,500 inmates each, as part of a programme to tackle the overcrowding crisis by increasing jail capacity by 10,500 places within seven years.”
The Guardian, 6th December 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Oral statement on the Carter Report – Ministry of Justice
“Jack Straw’s oral statement to the House of Commons on Lord Carter’s review of prisons.”
Ministry of Justice, 5th December 2007
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Three new ‘super-prisons’ to be built in UK – Daily Telegraph
“The Government is to build three huge new prisons as part of a package of measures designed to ease over-crowding by creating 10,500 extra places.”
Daily Telegraph, 5th December 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Family visits ‘key for prisoners’ – BBC News
“The reoffend rate for convicts could be cut if the government did more to support the children and families of those in jail, campaigners say.”
BBC News, 5th December 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Jail sentences ‘to depend on available space’ – Daily Telegraph
“Criminals should be sentenced according to the spaces available in jail for them, a wide-ranging review of the prison service is expected to recommend.”
Daily Telegraph, 5th December 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Hopes pinned on American-style sentencing grid to reduce prison overcrowding – The Times
“Radical proposals to examine a US-style system of sentencing intended to control the number of offenders sent to overcrowded jails will be outlined by ministers today, The Times has learnt.”
The Times, 5th December 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Britain’s longest-serving prisoner dies – The Guardian
“Britain’s longest-serving prisoner, John Straffen, who was sentenced to hang more than half a century ago, has died in prison. Straffen, aged 77, was convicted of murdering a schoolgirl in 1952 and admitted killing two others, but his death sentence was commuted because he was ‘feeble-minded’. The Ministry of Justice said last night that Straffen had died in Frankland prison, County Durham, yesterday after an illness. He was believed to be on a list of around 20 prisoners, which includes the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, who were never to be released.”
The Guardian, 20th November 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Prison service faces drastic cuts – The Observer
“A dramatic plan to slash the number of prison officers and streamline courts in England and Wales is being drawn up by the government in an attempt to deliver £1bn in savings.”
The Observer, 18th November 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Prison overcrowding is at critical stage, says Lord Chief Justice – The Times
“Britain’s most senior judge has given warning that the shortage of prison spaces was now ‘critical’ as a result of ministers’ failure to take account of the cost implications of their sentencing policies.”
The Times, 16th November 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
