HMP Thorn Cross prisoners take part in ‘Dragons' Den’ event

Prisoners have been pitching ideas and competing for funding in a “Dragons' Den” style event organised by charity Entrepreneurs Unlocked. A graphic design consultancy and a personal fitness business were among the ideas put forward by those bidding for the start-up funding. The winner will receive a grant of £400… Prisoners have pitched their business ideas to a “Dragons' Den” panel as part of a push towards getting ex-offenders into employment and reducing reoffending. ...

“Restorative justice has the CJS mantra at heart”

Restorative justice is a requirement of the Victim’s Code of Practice and funding is available for all PCCs.  Charity Remedi holds a national contract facilitating RJ for the National Homicide Victim Service and is also contracted by 10 youth justice services. Director Steve Jones told Police Oracle: “I’ve heard officers… Non-profit organisation Remedi are currently contracted by seven Police and Crime Commissioners; South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Humberside and Cumbria. ...

Young people’s experiences of violence

The report “Children, violence and vulnerability 2022” combines a survey of 2,025 children and young people with a review of national statistics. The Youth Endowment Fund was established in March 2019 by children’s charity Impetus, with a £200m endowment and ten year mandate from the Home Office. Its purpose is to… A new report published by the Youth Endowment Fund today explores the ways in which violence – and fear of violence – is shaping children’s lives. ...

Construction begins on UK's first all-electric prison

Nearly 1,500 prisoners will reside at the UK’s first electric prison which is set to open in 2025. The site will run solely on electricity where others still rely on gas. It will also use solar panels and heat pump technology resulting in 78 per cent less energy useage than… A UK-first, the prison will based at Full Sutton in East Yorkshire and is expected to create over 600 jobs. ...

Crest Co-operative: running probation contracts for 20 years

Crest Co-operative is a charity based in North Wales that run a variety of services including charity shops, a food bank, furniture upcycling through to a radio station.  They have around 47 paid staff, between 30 and 35 regular volunteers and through the probation services provide unpaid work supervision for… Crest Co-operative recently won another MoJ contract to provide unpaid work supervision services. It’s something they’ve been delivering for over 20 years. ...

The importance of early intervention

A new report from the Centre for Justice Innovation looks at how the criminal justice system increasingly focuses on serious and prolific offending at the expense of early interventions with low level offenders. The report is entitled: “I didn’t know who to turn to”: Understanding and filling the gap in… There is no cohesive approach to provide low level offenders with any systematic form of support according to a new report ...

Offender management in custody model ‘simply not working’

Today’s joint inspection report, led by HM Inspectorate of Probation, with HM Inspectorate of Prisons, has found Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) is falling well short of expected standards. The inspectors were so disappointed with OMiC that they went to the unusual step of calling for the model to be… For those in custody, the model transfers responsibility for offender management from the community into prisons...

The unstoppable rise of people on MAPPA arrangements

The Ministry of Justice and the Office for National Statistics have published the annual report on Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements for 2021/22. Although MAPPA has only been in existence since 2003, there are now more people supervised under its arrangements than there are people in prison. On 31 March 2022,… There are now more people supervised under MAPPA arrangements than there are people in prison...

£1m spent on utility bills at empty jails

The MoJ has said it has “vastly reduced” the cost to taxpayers as the latest figures were released. The department spent £1.9m on bills in 2015/16 for bills at defunct prisons but by 2017/18 that figure had dropped to £278,107.64 and then by 2021/22  it was £103,774.57. The bills cover… The MoJ has said that it has spent £1,168,572.25 on utility bills at defunct prisons since 2017. ...

The rise in “honour-based” abuse offences

The data has been collected by the Home Office from police forces in England and Wales on a mandatory basis since April 2019. The data are published in order to shine a light on the level of these offences dealt with by the police and to encourage other victims to… Last week, for just the third time, the Home Office published information on the number of police recorded offences which were identified as being ‘honour-based’ abuse (HBA),...