The latest criminal justice trends

Prisons As we know, the prison population has been growing rapidly this year. There were 85,851 prisoners in England and Wales on 30 June, 6% more than last year. One of the contributory factors to this rising population has been the increasing remand population trend that we have seen since… The Ministry of Justice and Office for National Statistics have today published the latest edition of the Offender Management Statistics covering the first quarter of this year. While sometimes this set of statistics confirms lots of things we already know about the prison and probation system, on this occasion there are some significant changes....

Latest prison inspection report makes for grisly reading

When I first started working in the criminal justice field, HMP Risley was known as “grisly Risley”; today’s inspection report makes it appear that nothing has changed for the better over the last forty years. HMP Risley is a mixed sex offender and general category C men’s resettlement prison near… A prison for sex offenders and with a high proportion of foreign offenders is struggling to shake off its long standing moniker ...

A new strategy for unpaid work

Unpaid work is frequently the Cinderella of the probation service, largely ignored except for in photos accompanying MoJ press releases emphasising how tough on crime the latest government is. So it’s refreshing to see it being the subject of the latest Academic Insight from HMI Probation. “A tripartite strategy for… New research highlights the need to enhance understanding of the unpaid work requirement and to gain public support and buy-in....

Counter-terrorism offender management work rated good

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation, alongside HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), and HM Inspectorate of Prisons have today published a report looking at the work of the Probation Service’s National Security Division (NSD) and multi-agency arrangements for the management of terrorist offenders in the wake of… Prison, police and probation services were found to be working together with a high quality of casework found in the inspection of the management of terrorist offenders....

Probation still not protecting victims of domestic abuse

Today’s (4 July 2023) thematic inspection of “work undertaken, and progress made by the Probation Service to reduce the incidence of domestic abuse and protect victims” does not make for comfortable reading. The inspection is based on the work in six Probation Delivery Units and included two case samples: 60… A thematic inspection has found improvements in policy but not practice...

Prisoner wellbeing

The article, written by Kate Netten and Dr Rachel A. Gibson who are part of the Evidence Based Practice Team in HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), starts by summarising what we know about wellbeing in the general population, that it is linked to a range of positive outcomes, including… An article in the latest edition of the Prison Service Journal looks at how we can apply the lessons from recent research into wellbeing to people in prison. ...

The Good Jobs Project

The Good Jobs Project, led by the business charity ReGenerate, is a new alliance of stakeholders, including businesses, government bodies, investors, and support organisations, all united by a common goal: to bridge the gap between labour shortages and marginalised groups seeking employment opportunities. In a new report the project argues… The report follows a year long study based on a survey of 500 hiring managers, HR and recruitment professionals and senior business managers...

Court reforms behind schedule and over budget

Last week the powerful House of Commons Public Accounts Committee published a very critical report on the government’s court reform programme. The summary could hardly be more damning: “Seven years into the programme, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is once again behind on delivering critical reforms to its services.… Overall, the programme will deliver less than previously promised, with work on some services paused altogether ...

First Residential Women's Centre announced

This week heralded a welcome piece of good news with the opening of Hope Street, a purpose-built family friendly residential community in Hampshire which is piloting a ground-breaking new approach to supporting women in the justice system.   The facility, operated by the One Small Thing (OST) charity, was opened… Work with offenders on long overdue progress with the female offender strategy...

MoJ to pilot Intensive Supervision Courts

A new pilot will see judges monitoring offenders’ progress during their community sentences while the Probation Service also provides intense supervision. Launched in Liverpool and Teesside this week, the Intensive Supervision Courts will mean judges ordering offenders to attend regular review meetings to check they are meeting the requirements of… The initiative will see judges monitoring progress of offenders serving community sentences. ...