Do you know a prisoner who would benefit from a visit?

APF and the Women's Institute (WI) are collaborating on a project to raise awareness about the distances that families often have to travel to visit prisons. The WI will visit prisoners and write up their journey for publication. This is a good opportunity for isolated prisoners, or those wanting to support APF's work, to be visited. The visits will be co-ordinated through visiting orders. Contact Jessica Berens at Action for Prisoners Families.

Hundreds of violent offenders could vote, figures show

Figures reveal that 1,780 criminals convicted of violent or sexual offences would be eligible to vote under plans to give prisoners voting rights.

The BBC learned last week that the government wants to limit the right to those sentenced to less than a year.

Ministry of Justice figures for England and Wales at the end of 2010 show 1,551 inmates convicted of violence against a person serving less than a year.

There were 229 people convicted of sexual offences in the same bracket.

Labour MP Gloria De Piero obtained the figures, which relate to the number of people in jail in England and Wales at the end of December 2010, by submitting a request to the Ministry of Justice.

The ministry add a disclaimer, saying the exact figures "are subject to possible errors", but the political effects cannot be mistaken.

To read full article click here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/9378742.stm

Prison overcrowding and under-resourcing...what's the answer?

Listen to Daylight's radio interview with UCB yesterday on prison overcrowding and under-resourcing...what's the answer?

Can community sentences replace jail?

This was published in August 2010 but i think it's still relevant.

With the prison population rising, along with the cost of keeping people locked up, ministers have indicated they want to see fewer people serving short jail terms. But are community sentences a real alternative?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10725163