RSG agency worker awarded MBE in New Year's Honours

Bimmy, who currently works for MOPAC as a Programme Officer, has been awarded an MBE for her support of the charitable sector over 30 years. Having lost both her parents at the age of 13, she cared for her younger siblings and elderly grandfather, and so her dreams of going… Congratulations to RSG agency worker Bimmy (Virinder) Kaur Rai who has been recognised for three decades of charity work by Her Majesty the Queen in the New Year Honours List....

What is the future of prison regimes?

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons have published their latest report into the work going on behind the walls of our prisons. The inspection of HMP Manchester focused, like so many inspections this year, on the poor quality of the daily regime. The inspection which took place this September when we… Work with offenders on changes to the prison system...

10 things we’ve learnt from the HMPPS annual report

Yesterday Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) published its Annual Report and Accounts for 2020 to 2021 which outlines how the agency performed in the year ending 31 March 2021. Inevitably, that performance was profoundly shaped by COVID with both the prison and probation service operating severely restricted models… Work with offenders digs into the detail of a pandemic-affected year...

The fate of people in prison who have died from COVID

Sue McAllister, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), has published a ‘Learning Lessons Bulletin’ analysing investigations into 107 deaths of people in prison related to COVID-19. This is the second such analysis published by the Ombudsman, the deaths analysed in this bulletin occurred during the “second wave” of the virus… Work with Offenders on today’s Prisons Ombudsman report...

A criminal waste?

A new report, A Criminal Waste, explores the issue of people offending whilst receiving support from the Fulfilling Lives programme, examining the links between multiple disadvantage and offending and making recommendations for a whole system approach to reduce the human and financial costs of involvement with the criminal justice sector.  Fulfilling lives  The Fulfilling… Work with offenders looks at a new study of multiple disadvantage, offending and system failure ...

The link between poverty, inequality and repeat contact with policing

A new report from the charity Revolving Doors as part of its New Generation Policing programme combines a literature review and peer-led qualitative research to demonstrate how the issues of poverty, trauma and policing interact for young adults aged 18-25. The review argues that there is significant scope to extend… Work with offenders on a new report from Revolving Doors...

Prisons strategy: the next 10 years

It’s been a busy week in government. Yesterday the new 10 year drugs plan was published, now the Ministry of Justice has published its Prisons Strategy White Paper also setting out a vision for the next 10 years. So let’s have a look at the main priorities. Prison building  It… Work with offenders on the 10 year prisons strategy white paper...

A youth justice system that works for children

Last week a coalition of service, strategic and political leaders in local government published a joint policy position paper on youth justice, calling for a move towards a more localised, responsive and child-centred system in the future. The Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS), Association of Youth Offending Team… Work with offenders on a new policy paper from leading stakeholders...

How much do defendants understand the sentences they are given?

A new report from the Sentencing Academy by the barrister Jessica Goldring examines how much defendants understand the sentences that are passed on them. The sentencing framework is constructed on the assumption that defendants understand how the process works and will respond accordingly. For example, that they will be deterred… Work with offenders on new research by the Sentencing Academy...

Prisons inch into the 21st Century

As readers know, our prison system suffers from having so many antiquated (not to say dilapidated) buildings which makes getting them fit for modern communications a significant challenge. In-cell phones However, the pandemic has acted as a major catalyst and there are signs of slow, but steady progress. The latest… Work with offenders on some welcome new announcements...