Prisons - new material (27)
01 December 1997
The prison system: some current trends. Penal Affairs Consortium October 1997 pp12. This report notes a rapidly rising prison population (an increase of over 50% since the end of 1992) due to harsher sentencing and juxtaposes this against cuts in the Prison Service budget.
House of the dead Deborah Coles & Helen Shaw. Prison Report No. 40 (Autumn) 1997 pp10-11. This article regrets the fact that the Prison Ombudsman "is precluded from looking into complaints made by the families of those who die in custody." It calls for an extension to the Ombudsman's remit which "would go some way to redress the strong impression that these deaths do not matter and...are an accepted feature of prison life"
Coping abilities and prisoners' perception of suicidal risk management Kevin Power Joe McElroy & Vivian Swanson. Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume 36 Number 4 1997 pp378-392. This article is based on interviews with 200 prisoners identified as "at risk" of suicide. "Prisoners reported the main difficulties of location on suicidal supervision as sensory deprivation degrading aspects of the regime negative emotional effects and social isolation."
Mentally disordered offenders in the prison setting Edward E Tennant. Police Journal Vol. LXX No. 4 (October-December) 1997, pp291-301. This article is based on a study of 222 defendants who had pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility. It notes the "lack of commitment or even interest" shown by successive governments and proposes a new assessment process.
Prison Privatisation Report International no 14 (October) 1997. Contains an article on a court case by a former Corrections Corporation of America employee who alleges the company bugged a member of staff violated narcotics law and sacked staff when they refused to cover-up and reports on trade union opposition to the privatisation of industrial functions at Coldingley Prison in Surrey.
Prison Watch press release 208. Prison Watch 21.10.97. This release covers the inquest of 31-year old Sean Goddard who while on remand was found hanging at HMP Highdown and later died in hospital. It notes that while the national suicide rate is 1:10 000 per annum it is 1:200 at Highdown and it criticises the secretiveness of the institution.
Prison Service Review HM Prison Service. Prison Service Review Team (November) 1997.
Parliamentary debate
Penal policy Lords 27.10.97. cols. 949-970