Howard League Blog
Informal comment from our Chief Executive, Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), and other contributors.
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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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Reasons to make a nomination to the Howard League Community Awards
Guest blog by Gerry Marshall, Trustee of the Howard League for Penal Reform and Chair of the Community Awards Read more
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We want to hear about work done by police to keep women out of the criminal justice system
The new awards are now open for police and others to nominate your work. We are keen to celebrate the fantastic work being done by police to keep people out of the criminal justice system, and where necessary support them into other services and support. Read more
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I welcome probation reform, but have some concerns about the new structure
The probation service has been taken back from the divided and privatised shambles set up by Chris Grayling seven years ago and is once again a public service. Read more
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A young person led legal service
In 2002, the Howard League brought a landmark case in its own name to challenge the assumption that the Children Act 1989 did not apply to children in prison. We won. Read more
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How winning Criminal Justice Champion award gave the Muslim Women in Prison project a new visibility
Guest blog by Sofia Buncy DL, National Coordinator, Muslim Women in Prison Project Read more
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