Could prisoner work plans take jobs from unemployed?

By Gerry Northam File on 4, BBC Radio 4

The government wants outside companies to more than double the number of jobs available in prison industries. Is this possible? And if it is, does it risk taking work away from law-abiding jobseekers?

The Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has won praise from all sides for his plan for "regime change" in English and Welsh prisons, making them into places of hard work and reform.

That is certainly not the reality for most prisoners now.

Just look at the statistics - there are 87,000 inmates and just 9,000 full-time jobs in prison industries.

Thousands more are employed in cleaning, cooking and other in-house occupations.

But for tens of thousands of prisoners, daily life consists of little more than sitting in a cell with two other convicts, smoking and watching daytime television.

Frances Crook of the Howard League for Penal Reform thinks this is a poor return for the taxpayer on a prison place costing £41,000 a year.

"There are 30,000 adult men serving long sentences and they spend years, sometimes decades, wearing pyjamas and pottering about as if it's an old people's home. It is completely purposeless," she says.

For thousands on shorter sentences, too, there is little activity to promote Mr Clarke's aim of reform - encouraging them to go straight.

More than half the prisoners released are re-convicted within a year and for some prisons, the figure is almost three-quarters.

So the government wants there to be a 40-hour working week for a growing number of inmates, with jobs that will teach them (perhaps for the first time) the habit of getting up in the morning and putting in a full day's work.

They may also learn skills that could make them more employable when they are released. Getting a job outside is linked to a lower chance of re-offending.

Ken Clarke puts it like this: "If you want less crime you've got to have fewer criminals, and that includes reforming a few of the criminals we have got inside by re-introducing them - or introducing them - to an honest day's work."

'Pie in the sky'

At the moment, many prisoners work part-time every week in a range of industries.

They stitch prison uniforms, pack plastic cutlery and headphones for airline passengers, work in laundries, run printing presses and make window frames.

It is this kind of work that Ken Clarke wants to see grow. His target is to increase the number of full-time prison industry jobs from 9,000 to 20,000 by the end of the decade.

But here is the problem - building workshops costs money.

One prison governor told File on 4 that the estimate for upgrading the electricity supply in his Victorian prison to accommodate more work was £300,000, which was simply not impossible in the current environment.

Since prison budgets are being cut, the justice secretary will depend on private companies coming in to set up workshops and create his 11,000 new jobs.

The model he praised in his conference speech this year was a metal workshop in a private jail in Fazakerley on Merseyside, HM Prison Altcourse.

But the assistant secretary of the Prison Officers Association (POA), Joe Simpson, says that Ken Clarke's idea of a 40-hour working week for many prisoners is "pie in the sky".

The normal prison regime could not make that much time available without an increase in staff, which is not on the cards.

"He is asking the impossible," he says.

Nonetheless, at HMP Altcourse they have found a way to make it happen. Inmates in the metal workshop, run by an external entrepreneur, work for 41.5 hours per week with only 30 minutes for lunch.

They drill and weld steel frames for office furniture which is sold outside. Along the way they acquire skills and gain NVQs which could prove valuable after their release.

Click here to read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15443436

A Point of View: Prisons don't work

BBC News

Prison does not work for the majority of inmates either as punishment or rehabilitation, writes Will Self.

If you stand on a main road in a British city and wait for long enough several kinds of vehicle will pass you by.

Naturally, there will be the relentless snort and grumble of cars and lorries, the snarl of motorcycles and the hiss of buses. But also with unflagging regularity nowadays there comes the demented wail of police cars, ambulances and fire engines weaving through the stalled traffic.

However, there's another kind of vehicle that may well escape your attention: boxy, four-square vans of the sort used by security companies to transport cash and other valuables, but painted white and with anything from two to eight opaque windows ranged along their hard riveted hides.

Next time you see one of these distinctive vans stopped by a traffic light, why not go up close to the windows, wave, and mouth the words of a silent greeting because inside, unseen yet able to view a tinted world, will be sitting a human being just like you, but in all probability shackled.

In prison slang these vans are known as "sweat-boxes" because the tiny individual cells they house, which are furnished with unpadded plastic seats, can grow intolerably hot.

The occupants of the sweat-boxes may be being transferred from prisons to courts, or taken on some other more or less rational journey mandated by their confinement.

However, often they will simply be being "ghosted", another apt slang term that perfectly captures the condition of inmates shifted from one prison to another, without warning, on a senseless go-round seemingly designed to disorientate and pacify.

It was Dostoevsky who said: "The degree of civilisation in a society is revealed by entering its prisons." But in contemporary Britain you don't even need to do this, you can simply stand on a street corner and wait for the ghosts to come flitting past in order to appreciate its parlous condition.

We now have the highest prison population in Europe by a considerable measure, and following the recent riots there is no likelihood of it decreasing.

Of course, we aren't quite at the levels enjoyed by our closest allies, those prime exponents of the civilising mission the United States, whose extensive gulag now houses, it is estimated, more African American men than were enslaved immediately prior to their Civil War - but we're getting there.

To read more, click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15196517

Inspectors raise concerns over women offenders risk

13 October 2011 BBC News

Women offenders who could pose serious risks to the public in England and Wales are not being monitored properly in the community, a report has found.

The report, by three criminal justice watchdogs, said only 28% of reports assessing the risks posed by female offenders were of sufficient quality.

A majority failed to "describe a plan to protect the public", it found.

The Ministry of Justice accepted the report, saying ministers would use the private sector to improve standards.

A spokesman said the government was overhauling community sentences to ensure they commanded public confidence and were better able to reform offenders.

Concerns over the female prison population, in particular the proportion who were single mothers or had drug or mental health problems, had led to a push towards community sentencing.

Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15283519

Prison population in England and Wales starts to fall

14 October 2011 BBC News

Prison numbers in England and Wales have fallen for the first time in six weeks, following a string of record highs in the wake of the summer riots.

Some 87,551 people are in jails, young offender institutions and immigration removal centres, compared with 87,673 last week.

In means that prisons are now more than 1,250 under-capacity.

Ministers had insisted there was space for anyone jailed for the violence or looting in English cities in August.

The number of children held on remand that month rose by almost a quarter, the figures show.

A total of 577 under-18s were held on remand in August, a 23% increase on the 469 held in July, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.

Operational capacity

The prison population as a whole rose from 87,214 on 23 September to last week's record high, before falling, as cases relating to disorder in cities including London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool and Manchester progressed through courts.

The useable operational capacity in England and Wales - the level at which which prisons can be controlled, kept secure and operated satisfactorily - is 88,818.

Ministry of Justice figures showed defendants charged with offences connected to rioting were more likely to be held on remand than those charged with similar crimes unconnected to public disorder.

Those convicted were also being jailed for longer - an average of 10.4 months for violent disorder, compared with an average of 5.3 months last year.

Campaigners said they were "disappointed" by the number of children on remand.

Penelope Gibbs, director of the Prison Reform Trust's Out of Trouble programme, said: "These are children who pleaded innocent and have not been convicted.

"Imprisoning children who have not yet been convicted should be an absolute last resort."

Kirklevington Grange prison's resettlement work praised

BBC News

Inspectors have praised the work done by a Teesside prison to prepare inmates for returning to the community.

The report into HMP Kirklevington Grange followed an announced inspection in May.

Prisons Chief Inspector Nick Hardwick said it was very effective at preparing men coming to the end of long sentences for their return to the community.

He said with the issue being the subject of discussion, ministers "could do worse" than look at Kirklevington.

Inspectors said the prison was very safe with diversity work, health care and basic services, such as catering, of a high standard.
Specialist role

Prisoners were treated with respect and individual attention was paid to their progression with high standards of conduct and motivation expected in return, inspectors found.

Prison training workshops were good and allowed inmates to go on to unpaid community work and eventually paid work outside. It also had impressive community links, they said.

The inspectors said recording of some sanctions and decisions needed to be improved.

Mr Hardwick said: "Kirklevington Grange performs its specialist role effectively.

"At a time when 'working prisons' and reparation to the community are under much discussion, ministers could do worse than look at how Kirklevington tackles these issues."

Dumfries launch for national youth offender strategy

BBC News

A new national strategy to tackle youth offending has been formally launched at a conference in Dumfries.

The programme will see minor offenders under the age of 18 offered support to tackle their behaviour as an alternative to prosecution.

 The Whole Systems Approach (WSA) involves police, prosecutors, social workers and a large number of other support services.

It was launched by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.
The strategy aims to ensure that only those charged with serious or violent crime are dealt with through the courts or children's hearing system.

Others accused of minor law-breaking will undergo a multi-agency screening process to determine what support is needed to address their behaviour and prevent re-offending.

Instead of formal prosecution, an immediate community service alternative can be sanctioned.
The strategy also calls for the greater use of "restorative justice", where the offender is encouraged to apologise for their crime.

It follows a successful pilot in Aberdeen which has shown significant cost savings and seen a reduction in youth crime of almost 10%.

Follow the link to read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-15080252

Does the public want the death penalty brought back?

By Rebecca Cafe BBC News

An internet campaign has reignited the debate on whether the UK government should seek the reintroduction of the death penalty.

The Restore Justice campaign, spearheaded by Paul Staines who writes the Guido Fawkes political blog, calls for the death penalty to be brought back for child and police officer murderers.

He cites opinion polls which suggest about half the population would like it re-introduced for murderers. This rises to 60% when it comes to child or police officer killers.

Mr Staines needs 100,000 people to support his on the government website to prompt a possible parliamentary debate on the issue.

The last executions in the UK took place in 1964. The death penalty was formally abolished in Britain in 1965 and in Northern Ireland in 1973.

Despite it rating high on public opinion polls, it was last debated in Parliament in 1998 during the passage of the Human Rights Act. It was rejected by 158 votes.

"The majority are in favour for bringing back the death penalty everywhere except in Parliament," said Mr Staines.

"Politicians are complaining that there's a disconnect and that the public aren't engaged with them - maybe if they represented the views and the will of the voters, there wouldn't be such a big disconnect."
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The mistake MPs have made is to not trust the people and to try and ignore their concerns. We can disagree with it but we have to trust it”

Douglas Carswell MP

He added: "The people want the death penalty, and politicians aren't prepared to vote for it. That's not right.

"What I'm trying to do is get Parliament to discuss this issue between what Parliament wants and what the people want."

House of Commons leader Sir George Young has warned that it would damage democracy to ignore strong opinions among members of the public "or pretend that their views do not exist".

Douglas Carswell MP agreed, saying, although he was firmly against the death penalty, he was in favour of Parliament debating it and would support a referendum on whether it should be brought back.

"I'm convinced that if there was a referendum on capital punishment we could win it; we could get most people to say 'no' to the death penalty.

"We need to treat people as grown-ups and have the debate and not do what we have done for half a century which is to ignore the public's concern and treat them with contempt.

"The important thing is we have this debate."

Mr Carswell added that the reason why Parliament had not debated this topic in recent years was because it was "out of touch with the public".

"The mistake MPs have made is to not trust the people and to try and ignore their concerns. We can disagree with it but we have to trust it."

But Neil Durkin from Amnesty International said it was a "waste of time and money that we as a nation cannot afford".
High profile murders

In September 2010, YouGov conducted the last opinion poll to ask directly if people want the death penalty re-instated. It suggested that 51% did.

And a Mori poll in July 2010 asked people which of a list of crimes they thought should have the death penalty.

For child murder, 62% supported it while a YouGov poll in November 2010 found 74% of people supported the death penalty for murder in some circumstances, though only 16% supported it for all murders.

However, when similar polls were carried out in the 1970s, support for it was far higher with 70% in favour.

Anthony Wells, associate director of YouGov, says polls which ask about the death penalty are straightforward: "Do you support it or not?"
Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in the UK In 1955, Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in the UK after she killed her lover

"When people already know about it and have established views then it is quite simple. The hard ones [opinion polls] are when people need to have an issue explained to them."

He said historically opinion polls on capital punishment have been commissioned by newspapers when there has been a heinous crime such as after the Soham murders.

Mr Wells added that such polls are not often commissioned in times when a high-profile murder is not in the news. However, the last two polls on the subject were not about a specific case, being conducted for a story about sentencing for murder and for a Channel 4 programme.

Polls are quite accurate, plus or minus 3%, said Mr Wells, and their accuracy can be checked against real life events such as who is going to win the election or X Factor.

"All the polls about the death penalty show similar patterns so even if it was worded differently it would still get the same result," he added.

"You can only tell what people think at the moment, but if it follows current trends then yes, I'd expect it to go down."

Mr Durkin from Amnesty International said it was important to have an informed debate, rather than a simple "yes or no" question.

"Public opinion polls are usually conducted after a particularly horrible murder that's had lots of publicity so you do tend to get that outcry.

"On top of that, when we have looked at opinion polls in the US, most people tend to think that the US is firmly in terms of public opinion pro death penalty.

"If you offer in those questions to the public alternatives to capital punishment - the lethal injections, the electrocutions, whatever it is - and talk about longer sentences then support drops away."

HMP Manchester report: cutbacks have 'negative impact' on inmates

BBC  20th September 2011


Savings made at HMP Manchester are having a negative effect on prisoners, a report has found.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) report said problems arose as fewer overtime shifts were being offered to cover for staff absences.

It also found the transfer of inmates with severe mental health problems from the prison to secure hospitals was cause for "extreme concern".

The Ministry of Justice said cutbacks had not affected core staffing levels.

The annual report, which was published on Tuesday, said inmates who have been identified as needing to be moved to a secure mental unit should be transferred within 14 days.
'Positive step'

The IMB said this sometimes does not happen and patients could sometimes wait for a few months for a suitable bed.

It said last year, 26 patients were transferred to secure mental units, while eight patients were transferred into Manchester from secure mental units.

The report, which looked at the year up to February 28, also raised concerns over the number of prisoners arriving late from court and the need for some prisoners to eat in their cells.

The IMB praised staff for responding well to very difficult situations, and said the extension of family visits to Category A prisoners was a "positive step towards rehabilitation and resettlement".

In response to the report, the Ministry of Justice said: "Staffing levels across the prisons estate are strictly risk-assessed.

"We take the safety of our staff and security within our prisons very seriously.

"Savings have been made without the removal of frontline staff and minimum staffing levels have remained unaffected."

HMP Manchester, formerly known as Strangeways, is a local prison which accepts people remanded into custody from the courts in the Greater Manchester area.

Prisoners could have phones inside cells, MoJ says

BBC 20th September 2011

Prisoners could soon have telephones fitted inside their cells, the Ministry of Justice has said.

It said it was considering a trial, at one jail, which would allow calls to be made in cells rather than on communal phones on landings.

Officials are concerned about growing numbers of mobile phones being smuggled into prisons.

Harry Fletcher, of the National Association of Probation Officers, said the scheme would need tight controls.

HMP Isis, a young offenders institute in south-east London, is believed to be the front-runner for the pilot scheme.

It houses 622 under-25s within the walls of HMP Belmarsh.

Under the pilot scheme, calls to friends and family will be recorded, as they are currently, but conversations with lawyers will remain private.

A Prison Service spokesman said: "Access to land-line phones for prisoners is normal practice.

"The Prison Service is currently exploring possibilities of a pilot installation in a state-run establishment as we recognise the benefits of such a system.

"Any pilot will be monitored carefully before a decision is made on its roll-out."
Approved numbers

Officials are also concerned about the security issues of prisoners queuing to use public phones.

Mr Fletcher, assistant general secretary of probation union Napo, said that bullying and cajoling was a problem at communal phones on landings.

He said the scheme could "stop the squabble for landing phones every evening" and reduce the staff time supervising it, but he also warned of dangers of abuse.

"There would have to be absolute guarantees that, in private, men are not using the phones to hassle, harass or stalk previous victims, witnesses or partners - there would have to be strong monitoring to ensure that could not happen.

"Authorities should only allow approved numbers, for example six nominated numbers, like solicitor, family, close friends and associates - if not phones are potentially an accessory to a crime," he said.

England riots: What is the impact of a criminal record?

By Gerry Holt

BBC News

As the courts deal with some of the hundreds of people charged in connection with the riots, igniting a row over whether the sentences being handed out are too harsh, the BBC asks what is the real cost of a criminal conviction?

When college student Nicolas Robinson set foot in a Lidl supermarket as he walked home from his girlfriend's house, he probably didn't think his actions would land him behind bars.

But stealing a £3.50 case of bottled water during the riots in Brixton has cost the 23-year-old dearly.

Robinson, of Borough, south-east London, is now serving six months in jail.

Justice campaigners, along with some MPs, have said some of the sentences given to those involved in the riots are too harsh while others have said tough penalties show that disorder does have consequences.

But what is becoming clear is that a criminal conviction - no matter how big or small - can have massive implications on a person's ability to lead a full life.

"We are seeing a lot of low-value crimes which are going to have a major effect on the lives of the people who committed those offences," said the BBC's legal correspondent Clive Coleman.

And Mervyn Barrett, of crime reduction charity Nacro, said many of those who played a part in the riots would live to regret their actions in more ways than one.

So what are the practical implications of a criminal conviction? To find out the truth, click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14556347

Restorative justice hailed 'success' in Cambridgeshire

The use of restorative justice for minor offenders has been hailed "a success" by Cambridgeshire Police.

About 800 officers have been trained to hand out on-the-spot punishments to keep first-time offenders out of the criminal justice system.

Restorative justice has been used in the county since the beginning of 2011 and to date 190 offenders have been dealt with through the system.

The system is only employed if the victim of the crime agrees to its use.

The alternative to traditional processes of arrest and punishment is based on three principles.

Insp Dominic Human said: "You have to acknowledge that what you've done is wrong, you do some reparation to put it right, and you reintegrate into society.

"So you move on very quickly, accepting that you've been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not to become a criminal.

"On many occasions it's simply that a victim just wants an apology, and restorative justice allows that to happen."
'Same outcome'

Trained officers ask victims of minor crimes to suggest appropriate punishments, and then determine whether that particular solution is fair.

"We're not judge and jury at all," said Insp Human. "We are simply facilitating an opportunity for someone to immediately say: 'I've done something wrong and I want to put it right'."

As part of the restorative project, youth offenders who caused criminal damage to a window agreed to clean all the windows on the house.

A 16-year-old shoplifter who stole goods to the value of £3 had to clean 100 shopping baskets and a 12-year-old who caused £75 worth of damage to a car had to send a written apology, and the parents paid for damage.

Insp Human said that the system saved "a massive amount of time" when compared to arrest and punishment through the courts.

"We can get the same outcome, in a very short time, at the scene.

"The motive for introducing restorative justice is because it's about doing the right thing for the victim.

"In the cases so far, we've saved over 1,000 operational policing hours which we can then use to concentrate on other important issues within the community."

Cambridgeshire Constabulary intends to train all officers in the use of restorative justice methods in the future.

Quarter of young offenders 'come from care homes'

A quarter of the 1,600 children held in young offenders' institutions (YOIs) in England and Wales have been in care, a report by prison inspectors has found.

Chief inspector Nick Hardwick said the figures were of "real concern" and showed a lack of progress over care.

His report also found that of 10 random detainees interviewed on their release, seven reoffended within three months.

The Ministry of Justice said the government would outline its youth justice reform plans shortly.

The report found many youngsters were being released with inadequate support and, in some cases, without an address to go to.

Three of the 10 detainees interviewed as part of the inspectors' research were back in custody within a month, the report added.
'Abuse and neglect'
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"Accommodation was often not confirmed until close to the young person's release or, occasionally, even the day of release," Mr Hardwick said.

"This affected young people's opportunity for early release and meant that some ended up in unsuitable accommodation.

"The most common reasons for children going into care are abuse, neglect or family dysfunction. It is perhaps unsurprising that in our survey, those who said they had spent time in care reported more vulnerability and greater need than those who had not.

Click here to read full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13548484

Question Time goes into lockdown for prison special

BBC security team to join prison officers in keeping order at show featuring Ken Clarke

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 May 2011

Security on BBC1's Question Time will be tighter than ever for Thursday night's edition being broadcast from Wormwood Scrubs and featuring under-fire justice secretary Ken Clarke.

BBC security guards are being posted outside the prison's perimeter to deal with the Question Time audience, but once inside the west London category B establishment, Wormwood Scrubs' security team will take over.

For the first time, prisoners will join the audience to quiz the Question Time panel along with members of the public.

Ten inmates have been chosen and vetted to ask questions of the panel, which includes former home secretary Jack Straw. Straw was also on the panel during another high-security episode of Question Time – BNP leader Nick Griffin in 2009.

A spokeswoman for Wormwood Scrubs admitted security was tight but said there was no additional security following Clarke's BBC Radio 5 Live interview on Wednesday in which he suggested some rapes were more serious than others. Clarke has since apologised for his comments, saying he "always believed that all rape is extremely serious, and must be treated as such".

However, tonight's episode is being filmed slightly earlier than usual to give extra time to the BBC to edit the show should there be any problems.

It is not the first time Wormwood Scrubs has been used as a broadcasting venue.

Newsnight previously filmed inside the prison in 1999 and ITV this month broadcast a two-part film on the establishment.

When asked whether security had been stepped up following Clarke's comments on rape, a Prison Service spokesperson said: "Security arrangements for Question Time have been in place for weeks and have not changed."

Probation guidelines rolled out

2 May 2011

A pilot project aimed at letting probation officers use their judgement instead of following instructions is be implemented across England and Wales.

Surrey and Sussex Probation Trust (SSPT) said it had been selected by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to try different working methods.

Probation officers previously followed instructions on when and how often to meet offenders, the MoJ said.

Under the new model, staff decide how to manage each case individually.

An MoJ spokesman said: "We are committed to allowing front-line staff to better use their judgement and professional skills to cut reoffending and protect the public."

New team tackles re-offending in Conwy and Denbighshire

A project aimed at tackling the issues behind crime by repeat offenders has been launched in Conwy and Denbighshire.

The pilot scheme - '8Ways: Change your Life' - works with offenders who persistently cause damage and nuisance to the community.

A Colwyn Bay-based team involving police, probation and drug and alcohol workers addresses underlying problems.

These range from debt to family and mental health issues.

The name "8Ways" comes from the eight areas where offenders may need help.

Unit leader Sgt Jonny Hill from North Wales Police said: "A team of six police officers will be working alongside staff from probation, mental health and drug and alcohol workers to look at the underlying causes affecting offenders' behaviour and work with them to help address their issues."

He added: "Nationally, it is recognised that 60% of offenders who get less than 12 months as a prison sentence will re-offend within a year and will be back in prison within two years."

Sgt Hill said the aim was to work together to reduce re-offending, cut crime and get to the root of their offending.

Peter Thomas Greenhill, assistant chief probation officer stated: "Wales Probation Trust considers '8ways' is an important opportunity for joint working to enhance the services already provided in the community."

He said there was evidence the approach had been effective in other areas in Wales.

New scheme aims to cut re-offending in Derby

Academics have helped design a new scheme aimed at cutting re-offending among teenage criminals in Derby.

The city's Youth Offending Service worked with Nottingham Trent University to develop The Acquisitive Crime Programme sessions.

They will be offered during sentencing to 15 to 17-year-olds convicted of burglary, robbery and vehicle theft.

The programme addresses issues such as morality and empathy, and will be available to courts later this year.

It is hoped the sessions will help get to the root of why an individual is offending, as well as providing them with the knowledge and necessary skills to help them to make better decisions.

'Cognitive programme'

The project was headed by David Ellicott, a senior lecturer in youth justice and youth studies at the university's school of social sciences.

Mr Ellicott said: "The programme will target those offenders who are at most risk of receiving a custodial sentence, and are believed to pose a threat of serious emotional or physical harm to either themselves or others.

"At the moment many court orders involve intensive surveillance and supervision such as tagging or curfews, whereas this is a cognitive programme which, while complementing that, will seek to promote a positive change in attitudes towards offending and behaviour.

"We believe this additional measure will significantly help to address the government's aim of reducing the number of young people in custody."

How should young killers be treated?

By Anna-Louise Taylor

BBC News
Jon Venables, one of the killers of toddler James Bulger, struggled to cope after his release from a secure children's home and was jailed for child pornography offences last year. The detective who handled the case believes the youth justice system failed Venables.

Venables, now aged 28, was 10 when he and friend Robert Thompson murdered the toddler in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993.

Venables was sent to the Red Bank Home in Merseyside and Thompson to Barton Moss Secure Care Centre in Manchester.

They were given new identities and freed in 2001, when they turned 18.

"I'd hoped that they would be capable of being rehabilitated, but I never had the faith in the system where I believed they could achieve that by 18 years of age," Albert Kirby, the former Merseyside detective, said.

Thompson is not known to have reoffended since his release, but Venables's life spiralled out of control.
To read the full article, click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13130691

Q&A: Gangs in the UK

By Dominic Casciani BBC News

The trial and conviction of two men for the murder of 16-year-old Agnes Sina-Inakoju, shot while waiting in a takeaway pizza shop, has raised questions about the extent of gang culture in British cities. But how much do we know about gangs and how they operate?

What do we know about gangs in the UK?

There is an awful lot of anecdotal evidence - but very few hard facts. Criminologists have researched gangs for decades - but part of the problem is that the word "gang" itself can be misleading. Gangs are not new - they've often been fundamental to youth criminal culture. Both Charles Dickens and Graham Greene wrote about gangs.

So what do we mean by the word "gang"?

From a policing perspective, a gang usually means a group of people involved in crime. But a gang can also mean a group that provides emotional or psychological support to its members. These two definitions are not exclusive.

Then there are other factors. Some gangs are territorial - such as those involved in selling drugs. Others are based on ethnicity. The latest factor in how some gangs organise is social media, which plays an increasingly important role in the life of youngsters.

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) said the word should not be over-used because it can glamorise what would otherwise be relatively minor anti-social behaviour.

This appears to be particularly important in relation to teenagers on the fringes of offending who are seduced by some of the symbolism and belonging that comes with gang culture.

In the past, the Home Office has broken down the definition of gangs into "three tiers of risk", which describe a "conveyor belt" from minor teenage misdemeanours to serious crime.
To read full article about Gangs in the Uk, click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13051111

Can writing stop prisoners reoffending?

By Liam Allen

Arts reporter, BBC News
An organisation that sends writers into prison to work with offenders is among arts groups across England that fear their funding is about to be cut. But can arts for prisoners save the government money?

Erwin James, a former inmate who served 20 years for two "appallingly serious" murders, says prisons are "full of people who are not very good at communicating effectively or appropriately".

"They can communicate with a pool ball in a sock or a razor on the end of a toothbrush or by shouting and bawling," he adds.

The 53-year-old says he went into prison in 1984 "with massive social inhibitions, I couldn't speak or to talk people, I was always acting, I was always trying to be somebody else - I didn't know who the hell I was".

"What we did in the group went back to the wing with us and made us more thoughtful and more reflective," he says. "Writing does that."

To read the full article, click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12879042

Art by prisoners goes on display in Liverpool

Artwork created by prisoners and patients in secure hospitals is on display in Liverpool.

The exhibition, Art by Offenders and Secure Patients, is the city's first to show and sell artwork from people held in secure units and on probation in the North West.

Paintings, sculpture, creative writing and music are exhibited in the Contemporary Urban Centre.

Work was selected from entries to the 2010 Koestler Awards charitable scheme.


'Come to terms'

Chief Executive of the Koestler Trust Tim Robertson told BBC Radio Merseyside the scheme encouraged offenders to communicate through art.

"To do well in the arts you have to be disciplined. Offenders are people who have failed to take account of the effect of their actions on other people at some point.

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