Howard League Blog
Informal comment from the charity
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A debate on the IPP sentence that showed Parliament at its best
In Monday’s committee stage debate on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, Members of the House of Lords discussed a series of amendments on the sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP). The Bill has been rightly viewed as an example of penal policy at its worst – punitive, illiberal and unevidenced. In contrast, Monday’s debate showed Parliament at its best. Read more
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Thinking differently about the future
It is a privilege and pleasure to have completed my first week as Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, following in the footsteps of Frances Crook. Read more
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Frances Crook says ‘thank you’
This is my last day as chief executive of the Howard League. Read more
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A 10-point action plan to change prisons and build safer communities
I have written to the new Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab, with ideas for a radical plan of action, as we understand he is preparing for publication of a White Paper on the future of prisons. Change is needed in a system that is antiquated and failing victims, the taxpayer and perpetrators. Read more
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Making Black Lives Matter in the Criminal Justice System
Two months ago, the Howard League published a practical guide for antiracist lawyers. The guide outlines some of the discrimination faced by Black defendants within the criminal justice system and wider society. Read more
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Vaccination in prisons
When the vaccination programme started to be rolled out, we urged the Ministry of Justice to implement a prison-by-prison strategy. This is not what happened, and now it seems that the various authorities and experts are blaming each other for the low take-up. Read more
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New prisons are not being built with rising temperatures in mind
The climate is changing. Some estimates indicate that the UK could experience summer days of 40 degrees. New prisons are not being built with this in mind. Environmental claims are being inflated and the huge expansion in prison-building will be environmentally damaging, as well as being unsuitable and possibly dangerous for prisoners and staff. Read more
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It is time to stop building prisons
Prisons are used to dealing with the failures of other services. They shouldn’t be, but they are. Read more
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‘Time well spent’ in prisons
When Suella Braverman, the Attorney General, went on maternity leave there was a little shuffling of the chairs. Read more
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If girls need to be in custody, they should be in local authority units, not prisons
During a hearing of the Justice Committee in Parliament on 13 July, when the Minister and the head of HM Prisons and Probation Service were asked about how girls were going to be cared for now that Rainsbrook secure training centre (STC) was closing down, they indicated, perhaps inadvertently, that they were thinking of putting the young girls into prisons holding boys. Read more
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