Howard League Blog
Informal comment from our Chief Executive, Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), and other contributors.
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HDC and solutions to prison overcrowding
The last 12 months have brought a population explosion in prisons in England and Wales. There are 5,060 more people in cells today than there were at this point last year. The crisis has become so extreme that police forces have been asked to make room for people who can no longer be kept in jails. And a long line of inspection reports has shown how overcrowding, combined with chronic staff shortages, has contributed to dire conditions behind bars. Read more
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Problems at Cookham Wood
As Cookham Wood receives an Urgent Notification, the Howard League questions whether young offender institutions are ever the right response to children in trouble with the law. Read more
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Racial disparities in youth justice – from policing to custody
It is only early April, but this year has already laid bare alarming trends in youth justice. Read more
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People Are Not Things
It was sad news indeed to learn that the former chief inspector of prisons, Lord Ramsbotham, passed away in the lead up to Christmas at the age of 88. Long after his impressive tenure as chief inspector, he remained a tireless campaigner on improving prison conditions and a staunch voice for penal reform in the House of Lords. He will be much missed. Read more
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What happens when young people in prison experience bereavement?
Earlier this year, our legal team was contacted by a young person in prison. His great-aunt, who had cared for him while his father was working, had passed away and he had been denied the right to attend her funeral. Read more
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A speech at the Temple Church for Prisons Week
On 12 October 2022, during Prisons Week, Andrea Coomber was invited to give a speech at Choral Evensong at the Temple Church in London. Her words are transcribed here. Read more
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“Stuck in a hole”: Fighting for family contact in the youth justice system
Earlier this year, a young person contacted the Howard League legal team for advice about getting a transfer to a prison closer to his home. He had spent more than two years of his sentence without any face-to-face contact with his loved ones, and felt intensely the alienating and lonely effects of this separation during his already challenging circumstances. Read more
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“This sentence is a living hell”
The Howard League is to hold a fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference this afternoon. The title is ‘What’s the future for prisons?’ and the scandal of sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) is likely to be among the topics that come up for discussion. Read more
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“I can’t win”: How it feels to be a girl in a boys’ prison
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
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2022 Howard League Community Awards deadline extended
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
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