⁦Ian Acheson 🇬🇧🇮🇪⁩ It has arrived!

This is an astonishing waste of time and resources when the daily operation of the criminal justice system is in chaos.

Assaulting shop workers is already an offence. It is already punishable by up to 6 months’ imprisonment.

Indulgent, posturing nonsense.

Longford scholar David Shipley on BBC Newsnight highlighting many of the issues in UK prisons

The prison drugs problem: What the MoJ spinners high on their own supply won't tell you. Organised criminality in prisons in supply/distribution of drugs is now too big to fail. Breaking the cartel and the rampant violence destroying rehabilitation is surrendered to containment.

Just to be clear. These are allegations that staff in a national law enforcement agency are complicit in managing drugs debts at one of its failing prisons. Staggering. The drugs economy in prison is seemingly too big to fail. Do watch.

'On Tuesday, my prison released 39 under the early release scheme. Having checked those names today, I can confirm that 10 have been recalled already. Each and every one of them for exactly the same reason - NFA on release = council couldn't provide accommodation.'

Out of Sight , Out of Mind: it costs £90,000 a year to keep a prisoner here, it is small, not overcrowded, half compliant sex offenders, modern with state of the art security yet ‘the dirtiest’ the Chief Inspector has ever seen. Serious questions for the Gongocracy

His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Protection Racket.

What can the UK prison service do to address organised crime?

We spoke to Mark Fairhurst who chairs the Prison Officers Association and John Podmore, who's served as a prison governor and as an inspector of prisons.

channel4.com/news/debate-wh…

HMP Peterborough (Men): “over a quarter of the prisoners were active drug users” - that is a c£4.5m annual illicit drug economy being financed by terrified family members ⁦Jackie Long⁩ ⁦Channel 4 News⁩ ⁦Ian Acheson 🇬🇧🇮🇪⁩ justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/ins…

thejusticegap.com/serious-organi… Jackie Long Channel 4 News Sally Chesworth

Great journalism from Jackie Long Channel 4 News - scandals don’t get much bigger than this- family in £50k debt & prison couldn’t care less. Alex Chalk KC MP there is no room under the carpet to sweep this. You have 6 months to show you really get it - & it’s not overcrowding.

amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/a…

Our report on HMP Five Wells, published today, found that 30% of prisoners tested positive for drugs in random tests in the latest of a series of inspections finding worrying levels of drug use.

Read Charlie Taylor's recent blog on the resurgence of drugs in prisons.

HMP Five Wells: and built without a gym: design genius justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/ins…

HMP Five Wells: 0f 750 officers recruited only 272 remained,‘several’ dismissed or arrested for corruption related activity, 1/3 prisoners testing +ve for drugs, all aspects of education ‘inadequate’, insufficient work. Not bad for £250m, let’s build more. justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/ins…

Looking to make a difference this spring?🧐🌼

Why not have ago at volunteering outdoors and connect with nature while giving back to your community💙

Join our volunteering team👇
ow.ly/UJ1O50R3Xsw

Ex-Glencore boss Alex Beard is worth c$2bn and is haggling with HMRC about how much tax he should pay. But are most of us willing to pay a fair whack to get passable public services? My column prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/65635…

Sigh.

* The courts have long taken into account personal background for sentence.

* This isn’t new. It’s codified.

* It includes experience of loss, neglect, abuse & insecure housing.

* Those are almost always relevant.

* Even if you can’t see it from your vantage point.

As discussed with Shelagh Fogarty we need to think differently about the concept of ‘punishment’ - denial of access to a phone or the internet is far more punitive for many than a fine or even incarceration. There are better ways to change behaviours than ‘longer sentences’