The plight of veteran offenders and the impact on their families

New research from Barnardo’s provides a glimpse into the ‘invisible’ lives of the children and families of veterans in custody. The charity was commissioned by the Forces in Mind Trust to assess their unique needs as part of a two year project. This follows previous work by Barnardo’s supporting children affected by… Work with Offenders looks into a new report into the needs of veterans in custody and their families and children...

Is the Ministry of Justice living on borrowed time?

It’s easy to think of our government departments as long-standing and venerable, representing centuries of stability and tradition. However, that’s not always the case. The Ministry of Justice, for instance, was only formed in May 2007 when some functions of the Home Secretary were combined with the Department for Constitutional… Work with offenders looks at the rationale behind an interesting reshuffle....

Women leaving prison struggle to find work

Two charities, the Prison Reform Trust and Working Chance, have jointly published a new report which found that fewer than one in 20 women (4%) were in employment six weeks after release from prison, compared with over one in 10 men (11%). Many readers will be familiar with the Prison… Work with offenders explores a new report from two leading charities...

How do you close a prison?

After Prison Many readers will be aware of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies which is an independent educational charity whose remit is to advance public understanding of crime and criminal justice. CCJS has just embarked on a new and ambitious project which aims to radically downsize the prison… Work with Offenders profiles an exciting and ambitious new project from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies....

Inside our youth justice system

The Ministry of Justice and the Youth Justice Board has just published its annual statistics for the youth justice system in England and Wales for the year ending March 2019. Youth crime is falling There’s plenty of good news to be found among the statistics within the overall context that… Work with Offenders digs into the detail of the new annual statistics on youth justice...

Lives not knives: the fear factor

A new report from social justice charity, Nacro, reveals that young people believe fear is the main reason behind carrying knives, and that tougher penalties and longer prison sentences do not deter young people from carrying knives. You can read the ‘Lives not Knives’ report here. Nacro launched the ‘Lives Not… Work with offenders looks at the new report from social justice charity Nacro...

Prison maintenance crisis

The government is failing to provide and maintain safe, secure and decent prisons and its flagship initiatives to address this have not delivered, according to a National Audit Office report published last Friday. More than 40 per cent of inspected prisons were rated as ‘poor’ or ‘not sufficiently good’ for… Work with Offenders digs into the detail of the new National Audit Office report...

What are the government’s plans for terrorist prisoners?

Yesterday the Justice Secretary Robert Buckland made a speech to the House of Commons about the government’s response to the stabbings in Streatham and its plans for terrorist prisoners. As readers will know, the Streatham incident was the second set of serious attacks committed by a recently released prisoner convicted… Work with Offenders looks at the detail of yesterday’s announcements on terrorism sentencing ...

#FairChecks: A fresh start for the criminal records system

Earlier this month two charities launched a new campaign to bring our criminal record system up-to-date. The charities are Unlock, a national organisation which provides voice and support for people with convictions who face stigma and obstacles because of their criminal record, and Transform Justice which works for a “fair,… Work with Offenders looks at a new initiative to reform our outdated criminal records system...

Why a punitive prison system is counter-productive

Twice a year the Prison Reform Trust publishes its Bromley Briefing Prison Factfile, an invaluable resource for anyone and everyone interested in what’s going on in our prisons. The new edition, published today, runs to 64 pages of detailed and up-to-date statistics on every aspect of prison life. The Briefing… Work with offenders looks at the latest fascinating edition of the Prison Reform Trust’s Bromley Briefing Prison Factfile....