People with mental illness in criminal justice system failed ‘at every stage’ – The Independent

‘The criminal justice system is “failing” people with a mental illness “at every stage”, a major report has found has found.’

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The Independent, 17h November 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Leeds prison punished inmates by restricting showers, report finds – The Guardian

‘Prisoners were unlawfully prevented from showering daily as punishment for poor behaviour, with shielding and self-isolating inmates also unable to do so, according to a damning report.’

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The Guardian, 12th August 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Family lawyers suffering from job insecurity and stress, survey finds – Legal Futures

‘Only half of family law professionals feel secure in their jobs right now, while a quarter are actively considering leaving the profession due to wellbeing concerns, major research has found.’

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Family Law, 21st May 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Home Office’s rush to deport asylum seekers before Brexit was ‘inhumane’, watchdog finds – The Independent

‘The Home Office’s rush to deport asylum seekers last year ahead of Brexit amounted to “inhumane treatment,” a watchdog has found. In its annual report for 2020, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) raised concerns around the impact of the government ramping up efforts to remove people arriving on small boats from the UK in the later months of 2020.’

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The Independent, 20th May 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Torture victims kept in solitary by Home Office for up to a year – The Guardian

‘The Home Office has pursued a policy of psychological brutality by locking up scores of torture survivors in solitary confinement for indefinite periods, according to fresh testimony from immigration detainees.’

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The Guardian, 15th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge issues second ruling sharply criticising lack of suitable regulated placement for vulnerable 16-year-old woman with complex needs – Local Government Lawyer

‘A High Court judge has sent a second judgment in less than a month – this time “more in exasperated hope than expectation” – to the Children’s Commissioner for England, the Secretary of State for Education, the Minister for Children and others over the lack of regulated accommodation for vulnerable children.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th November 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Facebook’s Instagram ‘failed self-harm responsibilities’ – BBC News

‘Children’s charity the NSPCC has said a drop in Facebook’s removal of harmful content was a “significant failure in corporate responsibility”.’

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BBC News, 19th November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Controversial immigration detention centre in Lincolnshire to close – The Guardian

Posted July 23rd, 2020 in detention, immigration, news, prisons, reports, self-harm, violence by sally

‘A controversial immigration detention centre where several deaths have occurred in recent years is to close.’

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The Guardian, 23rd July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lincolnshire removal centre still too violent, say inspectors – The Guardian

Posted March 10th, 2020 in detention, immigration, news, self-harm, violence by tracey

‘Inspectors have discovered high levels of self-harm, violence and use of force at an immigration detention centre in Lincolnshire where one detainee had been held for more than two years.’

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The Guardian, 10th March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Number of self-harm incidents in prisons reaches record high – The Guardian

Posted February 4th, 2020 in news, prisons, self-harm, statistics by sally

‘Levels of self-harm in prisons have hit a new high, with more than 60,000 incidents in a year, official figures show.’

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The Guardian, 30th January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Court of Appeal gives guidance on Secure Accommodation Orders – Transparency Project

‘The local authority was applying for a secure accommodation order in respect of B (aged 15). B and her parents opposed this, mainly because the proposed placement was some distance away.’

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Transparency Project, 29th November 2019

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Duty of care: inadequate safety nets? – No. 5 Chambers

Posted August 29th, 2019 in detention, duty of care, hospital orders, human rights, news, self-harm, suicide by sally

‘It was recently confirmed in Fernandes de Oliveira v Portugal [2019] ECHR 106 (no.78103/14, 31 January 2019) that a state’s positive obligation under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) applies not only to compulsorily detained patients, but also to those in hospital. However, there was a disappointing caveat. The European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) concluded that “a stricter standard of scrutiny” might be applied to patients detained “involuntarily” following judicial order (para.124). Indeed, no Article 2 violation was found. In a partly dissenting Minority Opinion (MO), Portugal’s Judge Pinto De Albuquerque and Judge Harutyunyan describe the decision scathingly as “the result of a creative exercise of judicial adjudication for an imagined country” (MO, para.16). This article analyses the case law the ECtHR failed to apply, contends that the decision is plainly wrong, and argues that no differentiation between voluntary and involuntary patients can be justified.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 6th August 2019

Source: www.no5.com

More than 18,000 prisoners ‘cooped up’ in overcrowded cells, figures show – The Independent

Posted August 2nd, 2019 in news, prisons, self-harm, violence by tracey

‘More than 18,000 prisoners are living in cells designed for fewer people as overcrowding fuels violence in jails, a charity has warned. An analysis of government figures by the Howard League for Penal Reform shows three in five men’s prisons are holding more people than they are certified to look after.’

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The Independent, 1st August 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Jury finds failure to adequately assess risk of self harm and suicide contributed to death of Rocky Stenning at HMP Chelmsford – Garden Court Chambers

Posted July 5th, 2019 in death in custody, inquests, news, prisons, self-harm, suicide by sally

‘The jury returned a narrative conclusion at the inquest into the death of Rocky Stenning, finding that the failure to adequately assess his risk of self harm and suicide whilst he was at HMP Chelmsford contributed to his death. They also noted that restricting Rocky’s access to a telephone, the length of the prison sentence he received and other known triggers as identified in the Ministry of Justice’s suicide and self-harm policy, affected Rocky’s mental ill health.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 3rd July 2019

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

NHS care providers left autistic children at risk of self-harm – The Guardian

Posted June 17th, 2019 in autism, children, complaints, hospitals, news, self-harm, suicide by tracey

‘Potentially suicidal autistic children with mental health problems in Staffordshire have been left at risk of self-harm after receiving inadequate and unsafe care, according to a damning leaked internal NHS report.’

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The Guardian, 16th June 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Jails are failing to get a grip on violence and drugs, says chief inspector – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 22nd, 2018 in drug abuse, news, prisons, reports, self-harm, suicide, violence by tracey

‘Britain’s jails are failing to get a grip on record levels of violence, suicides, self-harm and drug-taking which are all getting worse, the chief inspector of prisons warned yesterday.’

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Daily Telegraph, 22nd November 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Self-harm and violent attacks in prisons hit record high as incidents rise by 20% in a year, figures show – The Independent

Posted October 26th, 2018 in news, prisons, self-harm, statistics, violence by tracey

‘Incidents of self-harm in jails across England and Wales increased to 49,565 in the year to June 2018, with the number of self-harming individuals up by 10 per cent, despite a reduction in the overall prison population.’

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The Independent, 25th October 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

HMP Woodhill has ‘staggering’ rate of self-inflicted deaths – BBC News

Posted June 19th, 2018 in news, prisons, reports, self-harm, suicide by sally

‘A prison where 20 men have taken their lives since 2011 has a “staggering” death rate and is still failing vulnerable inmates, a report has said.’

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BBC News, 19th June 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Brook House: Use of force against immigration detainees more than doubles in a year, watchdog finds – The Independent

Posted May 3rd, 2018 in detention, immigration, news, reports, self-harm by tracey

‘Use of force against people in one of the UK’s largest immigration detention centres has soared by more than 160 per cent in two years, a watchdog report has revealed.’

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The Independent, 2nd May 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Self-harm and violent attacks hit record high in prisons across England and Wales – The Independent

Posted April 27th, 2018 in news, prisons, self-harm, statistics, violence by tracey

‘Self-harm and violent attacks have hit record levels in prisons across England and Wales as campaigners warn of a “system in crisis”. More than 11,600 prisoners harmed themselves in 2017 – a record high – and the number of separate incidents rose by 11 per cent to 44,600.’

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The Independent, 26th April 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk