Howard League Blog

Prison is no place for a child. But those children who find themselves in the care of the state should be given every provision and support needed. Unfortunately, inspection reports released this week show that girls across the youth custodial estate are being failed by a system inadequate to house or care for them.  At the time …  Read more

After a challenging couple of years with the pandemic, and now the added pressure of a growing cost-of-living crisis, it is particularly important that we recognise the outstanding individuals and projects helping to reduce crime and keep our communities safe.  Read more

One of the greatest moments of my first few months in office was when our win was announced at the Howard League for Penal Reform’s 2021 Community Awards, writes Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Steve Turner.  Read more

For the past three years, the Howard League for Penal Reform has been campaigning against archaic legislation which allows courts to send acutely unwell people to prison as a ‘place of safety’ or for their ‘own protection’. Last week, the government published a Draft Mental Health Bill which would finally remove this option.  Read more

Encouraging desistence from crime through diversion and other interventions – that keep people out of the criminal justice system – is more humane, fairer and more effective than the alternatives of custody, fines and imprisonment. This idea underpins the work of the Howard League. It is also the focus of grassroots projects up and down the country.  Read more

Last week, I had the huge privilege of delivering the 2022 Howard League Lecture in honour of Lord Parmoor.  Read more

Last week, the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorate (CJJI) published a progress report on the impact of Covid-19 on the criminal justice system. It describes a system where fatigued staff are struggling to deliver adequate services, and no agency – least of all prisons – is back to ‘business as usual’. This bleak description will be familiar to anyone who has followed the Howard League’s blogposts about life in prison during the pandemic.  Read more

Earlier this year, we invited Howard League members in prison – and members with a loved one in prison – to share their experiences of imprisonment during the pandemic. In April, we built on this by asking young people on our advice line what the past two years had been like for them.  Read more