What our prisons get wrong
‘Purposeful activity’ is a phrase often heard in discussions about our prisons. It describes work, training, therapeutic courses and other…
Britain could learn from Texan prisons
Before I was sentenced to prison I imagined it as a place of discipline, where we who had broken society’s…
Why aren’t some released prisoners being tagged?
As hundreds of prisoners are released early on to the streets of Britain, it’s vital that the authorities keep track…
Should prisoners jump the queue for housing?
With the mass releases from prison underway, politicians have turned their attention to what happens after inmates leave jail. On…
Probation officers won’t be able to cope with 5,500 prisoner releases
Today the government is releasing an estimated 1,700 prisoners early, under the scheme (SDS40) in which most inmates will only…
Starmer can’t keep blaming the Tories for the prison crisis
Britain’s prisons are full: over the August Bank Holiday weekend, there were fewer than 100 men’s prison places remaining. The…
The toxicity of two-tier justice
One of the worst things about prison is the rules. Before I was sentenced I’d imagined jail as a rigid,…
Why do prison staff keep having sex with inmates?
As I read last week’s Steerpike exclusive on the thorny topic of ‘inappropriate relationships’ between prison officers and prisoners, my…
The courts will struggle to bring the rioters to justice
Violent conflict, not traditionally a feature of life in Britain, arrived with brutal force this weekend. Angry mobs targeted mosques…
Labour’s prison plan will fix one problem – but could cause plenty of others
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has bowed to the inevitable: acknowledging that ‘our prisons are on the point of collapse’, Mahmood…
How prison changed Julian Assange – and me
Julian Assange was a changed man when he walked free from Belmarsh prison in south London this week. The Wikileaks…
Labour could make Britain’s prison crisis worse
On Saturday night, Labour announced its plans to ‘fix the prison crisis and keep criminals behind bars’. If this announcement…
The power of restorative justice
In a week when the Chief Inspector of Prisons published an Urgent Notification detailing the horrors of HMP Wandsworth, I…
The criminal justice system is on the brink of collapse
When a vast, complex system fails it first does so slowly, and then all at once. I fear that the…
Releasing prisoners early is a mistake
Some prisoners will be freed up to 70 days early to ease overcrowding in jails. This isn’t the first time…
We’re all paying the price for our rotten prisons
What happens when government policy meets an entirely unfit system? Today’s report on HMP Peterborough by HM Inspector of Prisons…
Drugs are costing the lives of too many prisoners
In prison, drugs kill. HMP Parc, a private prison in Wales managed by G4S, has seen six inmate deaths over…
The catalogue of errors that left Joshua Jacques free to kill
The horror of the crimes of Joshua Jacques, who murdered his girlfriend and three members of her family in south…
Why Britain’s prison guards are losing control
Prisons are terrifying places when guards lose control. The authorities retreat and angry prisoners are left in charge – until…
Why do we send the wrong people to prison?
In prison, I met a lot of men who said they shouldn’t be there. They presented detailed mitigations, and listed…
Police are in a muddle over transgender strip searches
Have you ever been strip searched? I have. The date it happened – 7 September 2020 – is etched on…
How I found the true meaning of Christmas in prison
What do prisoners eat on Christmas Day? Some tabloid reports might lead you to think ‘lags’ are ‘gorging’ themselves on…
No wonder Britain’s prisons are almost full
It’s finally happened. Our prisons are almost full. Last night the Times reported that ‘Lord Justice Edis, the senior presiding…
Overseas prisons will be disastrous for British inmates
Our prisons are overcrowded, dangerous and out of control. The prison population is rising faster than we can build new…
The toxic prison attitude that can cost inmates their lives
David Morgan, a 35 year-old man, told staff he’d taken an overdose. A nurse decided the man seemed drunk and…
