Prisons - new material (76)
01 April 2010
Report on an unannounced full follow-up inspection of HMP Leeds 3 – 12 March 2010, Anne Owers. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (June) 2010, pp. 145. Among the inspector’s concerns were: i. “a high proportion of prisoners said they had felt unsafe: induction processes were poor and systems to investigate and monitor alleged incidents of victimisation were weak”; ii. “the level of illicit drug use was high, and there was insufficient attention to supply reduction”; iii. “despite some effective work on race and religion, black and minority ethnic, and in particular Muslim, prisoners continued to have much more negative perceptions than other prisoners”; and iv. “there continued to be too little purposeful activity, although there had been some improvements to the range and quality of provision, and too many prisoners spent most of the day locked in cells“. Available as a free download: http://www.justice.gov.uk/inspectorates/hmiprisons/docs/Leeds_2010_ rps_.pdf
Recent developments in prison law – Part 1, Hamish Arnott, Nancy Collins and Simon Creighton, Legal Action, July 2010, pp.10-16. This series of updates reviews recent policy changes relating to indeterminate sentenced prisoners (ISPs), and important case-law concerning prison conditions, ISPs and determinate parole.
Human Rights and Prisons. Just News (Committee on the Administration of Justice) June 2010, pp.2-3. This article examines the failure of the Northern Ireland Prison Service to effectively apply certain recommendations concerning the rights of prisoners put forth by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Criminal Justice Inspection and others. According to the article, the areas most often flagged as being in need of attention include “Safer Custody; Security; Staffing and Management Issues; Daily Activity and Long-term Planning [...]; resettlement and reintegration; Health and well-being; Living conditions; Diversity and Equality; Complaints; Women; Discipline; Life-sentenced prisoners; and Juveniles”. The article concludes that “Changes in the culture of the system is what is needed” to ensure that the Northern Ireland Police Service measures up to international and regional human rights benchmarks. CAJ email: info@caj.org.uk
The costs of barring 85,000 prisoners from voting today, David Pannick QC. The Times 6.5.10. Pannick considers the 2005 European Court of Human Rights ruling that it is a breach of the European Convention for the UK to disenfranchise all prisoners from voting in parliamentary and local elections. He describes as a “constitutional disgrace” the fact that this absolute ban persists four years on, as was exemplified in last May’s general election. He argues that: “For the United Kingdom now to hold a general election that defies the European Court’s ruling on eligibility to vote is, in itself, a matter of deep regret for a society that prides itself on the rule of law and democratic accountability.”
Report on an announced inspection of the young adult units at HMYOI Stoke Heath 29 March – 2 April 2010, Anne Owers. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (June) 2010, pp. 1590. This Young Offenders Institution was found to be failing the needs of young adults. Inspectors found that: i. a high proportion of young adults had felt unsafe; ii. the strategies and processes for violence reduction were overcomplicated and underused by residential staff; iii. the environment was dirty and uncared-for; iv. there was little proactive engagement or challenge, and the personal officer scheme was underused and undermanaged, and v. there had been an increase in the amount and range of work, training and education available in the establishment, and it was in general better managed and delivered. However, access for young adults was clearly insufficient to meet need. There were only sufficient vocational training places for 20% of the population. See: http://www.justice.gov.uk/inspectorates/hmiprisons/docs/Stoke_Heath_ 2010_rps_.pdf