The Prison Reform Trust wants to understand what long sentences mean for the people serving them, the families and friends left behind, and the system that is responsible for their care. Then we want to make a difference – to the way of life in prison for people serving very long sentences and to their ability to build a future in the community to which almost all will return.

The Building Futures will be an innovative prisoner-led project. It will give long term prisoners the opportunity and skills to influence the policies and practices that affect them, and to build the bridges between prison and community on which their futures depend.

How emerging technologies are improving the efficiency and operational effectiveness of response is set to be the key focus of The Emergency Services Show 2019. The event takes place in Hall 5 at the NEC, Birmingham from 18 to 19 September.

For anyone working in a custody setting the event gives access to the best solutions providers and support networks to protect them at work and carry out their role to the best of their ability.

New seminar and exhibition zone

New features at this year’s event are the SkyBound Rescuer Drone Seminar and a SkyBound Rescuer Drone Zone, sponsored by SOARIZON®️ by Thales. The new seminar and exhibition zone are designed to develop better drone use through research and discussion. Seminar sessions will cover key areas such as optimising search effectiveness.

Young people have been let down and failed by the Government resulting in a social emergency and a devastating loss of life according to a new report by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

The report, published today (31 July), points to the Government’s Serious Violence Strategy as a completely inadequate response to the wave of violence currently blighting our communities. The hard-hitting report calls for:

• Stronger focus, leadership and direction from the Government and Prime Minister, and an accountable leader in every local area reporting to the Prime Minister on action to bring serious violence down

CNL Software, a world leader in Physical Security Information management (PSIM) software, will be demonstrating the latest features of its IPSecurityCenter™ PSIM software at the GSX. These demonstrations will help those responsible for the security of major cities, government agencies, public & private critical infrastructure, public & private corporations, and transportation facilities & networks to better understand and more efficiently react to security incidents. Recent IPSecurityCenter developments include enhanced interactive dashboards, improved web and mobile accessibility, plugin support for embedded analytics, machine learning, predictive insight tools and improved three-dimensional (3D) mapping.

Prisons need to promote personal growth as an end in itself, not just a means to reduced reoffending, according to a new report published by the Prison Reform Trust today (9 July 2019).

The report, ‘What do you need to make best use of your time in prison?’ is the result of an extensive consultation exercise with over 1,250 people with experience of prison.

The report is the second of the Prison Reform Trust’s Prisoner Policy Network—a group of current serving prisoners, ex-prisoners and connected organisations who want to share their expertise and experience with policy makers. 

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Rt Hon David Gauke MP, has described the Prisoner Policy Network as “a very welcome initiative”. “No-one is likely to understand the issues [in prison] more clearly than the people who live and work in them,” he said.

Jacqueline A (Bennett) Hollows MSc is the founder of Beyond Recovery CIC – an organisation working in the CJS with an innovative Freedom of Mind programme which has been evidenced and had a profound impact over the last five years. Here, she tells the story of what happened in one of her groups when a previous graduate died of a drug overdose…

Mind Beyond Bars #01-19– Charlie’s story

You get to hear and all sorts of things when running groups for inmates in prison.  All of humanity turns up in these rooms.  Gritty stories of hardship and wrongdoing, traumatic stories of lives damaged, stories of hope and change, and stories of pain and suffering. 

Commenting on the latest safety in custody statistics published today by the Ministry of Justice, Peter Dawson, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

“The faint hope that our prison system might have turned a corner has been dashed by these numbers. Prisons are still getting more dangerous as places where people have to live and work.  More people than last year chose to take their own life rather than endure it. When an individual prison hits rock bottom, the government reduces the number of prisoners it holds – but it continues to ignore the obvious truth that it is the prison system as a whole that is grossly overcrowded. Ministers talk about having recruited more staff, but the problem will only be solved by having fewer prisoners.”

Commenting on the urgent notification issued by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons at HMYOI Feltham A, Peter Dawson, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

“This distressing report stands in stark contrast both to previous evidence of some improvement at Feltham and to a very positive report issued only last week about a larger but otherwise similar Young Offender Institution in the north of England.

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Late last year, the Prison Reform Trust’s advice and information service received a number of enquiries from people held in private prisons, regarding the cost of electronically transferring money into their prison account from families outside. Public sector prisons have also recently introduced such a service, however, unlike in private prisons this service is provided at no cost to either the sender or recipient.

In response, they approached Unilink, the provider of the Secure Payment Service, to discuss how the situation might be able to be improved for those held in private prisons. The PRT was pleased to find that following their approach to Unilink, they have agreed to reduce costs by an average of 20% after negotiating discounts with their suppliers.