Latest news with #HowardLeague
North Wales Chronicle
20-05-2025
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Legal bid over plans to use pepper spray in young offender institutions
Charity Howard League for Penal Reform has sent a letter before claim to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood urging her to reverse the move set to be rolled out this summer. Pava spray, which is an incapacitant, is due to be made available 'in limited circumstances' to a select number of specialist staff at the three public sector YOIs holding under-18s – YOI Werrington, Wetherby and Feltham A, the Ministry of Justice announced in April. The measure, which seeks to combat rising violence from inmates, was welcomed by union bosses who lobbied for the change for prison officers to be given equipment to protect themselves. The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show rates of assaults on staff in the YOIs are 14 times higher than within adult prisons. But the plan sparked criticism from the Children's Commissioner and the charity, which warned it was 'a serious escalation in the use of force that is permitted against children'. The spray is set to be rolled out for an initial 12 months before it is reviewed by ministers, while each use of the spray will be reviewed by an independent panel. On Tuesday, charity chief executive Andrea Coomber KC said: 'The Howard League has been preparing to take whatever steps necessary to challenge the roll-out of Pava spray to prisons holding children, including potential legal action. 'We know that Pava spray has been used inappropriately in prisons holding adults; to use it on children would be catastrophic. 'Far from keeping children and staff safe, normalising the use of violence in this way risks making conditions even worse for those living and working in prison.' The national charity is concerned there is a lack of research on the use of the spray in custody, and specifically against children, while existing research in relation to adults shows a 'myriad of potential physiological health impacts'. Ms Coomber added: 'Instead of arming staff, the way to reduce violence is to close failing young offender institutions and ensure that children are accommodated in more appropriate settings – such as secure children's homes – where they can be given the care and support they need. Prison is no place for a child.' The pre-action letter sent by lawyers on behalf of Howard League asks for the Justice Secretary to withdraw the decision and respond within 14 days, it said. The campaigners have also launched a crowd fundraiser to help them fund the challenge, which has currently raised more than £10,000. Announcing the roll-out in April, justice minister Sir Nic Dakin said: 'This Government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis. The unacceptable levels of violence faced by our brave frontline officers in young offender institutions is yet another symptom of that. 'This is not a decision we have made lightly, but our overarching duty is to keep staff and young people in custody safe. This spray is a vital tool to prevent serious violence, helping staff to focus on rehabilitation as part of our Plan for Change.' The rate of assault incidents on staff last year was 170.0 per 100 children and young people at Feltham, 182.9 per 100 at Werrington, and 167.4 per 100 at Wetherby, Ministry of Justice figures show. The rates are around 14 times the equivalent figure in adult prisons in England and Wales, which was 12.2 per 100. The Ministry of Justice said it does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- The Independent
Legal bid over plans to use pepper spray in young offender institutions
The Government is being threatened with legal action over plans to allow prison officers to use synthetic pepper spray in young offender institutions. Charity Howard League for Penal Reform has sent a letter before claim to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood urging her to reverse the move set to be rolled out this summer. Pava spray, which is an incapacitant, is due to be made available 'in limited circumstances' to a select number of specialist staff at the three public sector YOIs holding under-18s – YOI Werrington, Wetherby and Feltham A, the Ministry of Justice announced in April. The measure, which seeks to combat rising violence from inmates, was welcomed by union bosses who lobbied for the change for prison officers to be given equipment to protect themselves. The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show rates of assaults on staff in the YOIs are 14 times higher than within adult prisons. But the plan sparked criticism from the Children's Commissioner and the charity, which warned it was 'a serious escalation in the use of force that is permitted against children'. The spray is set to be rolled out for an initial 12 months before it is reviewed by ministers, while each use of the spray will be reviewed by an independent panel. On Tuesday, charity chief executive Andrea Coomber KC said: 'The Howard League has been preparing to take whatever steps necessary to challenge the roll-out of Pava spray to prisons holding children, including potential legal action. 'We know that Pava spray has been used inappropriately in prisons holding adults; to use it on children would be catastrophic. 'Far from keeping children and staff safe, normalising the use of violence in this way risks making conditions even worse for those living and working in prison.' The national charity is concerned there is a lack of research on the use of the spray in custody, and specifically against children, while existing research in relation to adults shows a 'myriad of potential physiological health impacts'. Ms Coomber added: 'Instead of arming staff, the way to reduce violence is to close failing young offender institutions and ensure that children are accommodated in more appropriate settings – such as secure children's homes – where they can be given the care and support they need. Prison is no place for a child.' The pre-action letter sent by lawyers on behalf of Howard League asks for the Justice Secretary to withdraw the decision and respond within 14 days, it said. The campaigners have also launched a crowd fundraiser to help them fund the challenge, which has currently raised more than £10,000. Announcing the roll-out in April, justice minister Sir Nic Dakin said: 'This Government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis. The unacceptable levels of violence faced by our brave frontline officers in young offender institutions is yet another symptom of that. 'This is not a decision we have made lightly, but our overarching duty is to keep staff and young people in custody safe. This spray is a vital tool to prevent serious violence, helping staff to focus on rehabilitation as part of our Plan for Change.' The rate of assault incidents on staff last year was 170.0 per 100 children and young people at Feltham, 182.9 per 100 at Werrington, and 167.4 per 100 at Wetherby, Ministry of Justice figures show. The rates are around 14 times the equivalent figure in adult prisons in England and Wales, which was 12.2 per 100.
Sky News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Inside the UK's broken prison system where tinkering around the edges will no longer work
"As far as I'm concerned, there's only three ways to spend the taxpayers' hard-earned when it comes for prisons. More walls, more bars and more guards." Prison reform is one of the hardest sells in government. Hospitals, schools, defence - these are all things you would put on an election leaflet. Even the less glamorous end of the spectrum - potholes and bin collections - are vote winners. But prisons? Let's face it, the governor's quote from the Shawshank Redemption reflects public polling pretty accurately. Right now, however, reform is unavoidable because the system is at breaking point. It's a phrase that is frequently used so carelessly that it's been diluted into cliche. But in this instance, it is absolutely correct. Without some kind of intervention, the prison system is at breaking point. It will break. Inside Preston Prison Ahead of the government's Sentencing Review, expected to recommend more non-custodial sentences, I've been talking to staff and inmates at Preston Prison, a Category B men's prison originally built in 1790. Overcrowding is at 156% here, according to the Howard League. One prisoner I interviewed, in for burglary, was, until a few hours before, sharing his cell with his son. It was his son's first time in jail - but not his. He had been out of prison since he was a teenager. More than 30 years - in and out of prison. His family didn't like it, he said, and now he has, in his own words, dragged his son into it. Sophie is a prison officer and one of those people who would be utterly brilliant doing absolutely anything, and is exactly the kind of person we should all want working in prisons. She said the worst thing about the job is seeing young men, at 18, 19, in jail for the first time. Shellshocked. Mental health all over the place. Scared. And then seeing them again a couple of years later. And then again. The same faces. The officers get to know them after a while, which in a way is nice but also terrible. The £18bn spectre of reoffending We know the stats about reoffending, but it floored me how the system is failing. It's the same people. Again and again. The Sentencing Review will almost certainly recommend fewer people go to prison, introducing more non-custodial or community sentencing and scrapping short sentences that don't rehabilitate but instead just start people off on the reoffending merry-go-round, like some kind of sick ride. But they'll do it on the grounds of cost (reoffending costs £18bn a year, a prison place costs £60,000 a year, community sentences around £4,500 per person). They'll do it because prisons are full (one of Keir Starmer's first acts was being forced to let prisoners out early because there was no space). If the government wants to be brave, however, it should do it on the grounds of reform, because prison is not working and because there must be a better way. A cold, hard look I've visited prisons before, as part of my job, but this was different. Before it felt like a PR exercise, I was taken to one room in a pristine modern prison where prisoners were learning rehabilitation skills. This time, I felt like I really got under the skin of Preston Prison. It's important to say that this is a good prison, run by a thoughtful governor with staff that truly care. But it's still bloody hard. "You have to be able to switch off," one officer told me, "Because the things you see...." Staff are stretched and many are inexperienced because of high turnover. After a while, I understood something that had been nagging me. Why have I been given this access? Why are people being so open with me? This isn't what usually happens with prisons and journalists. That's when I understood. They want people to know. They want people to know that yes, they do an incredible job and prisons aren't perfect, but they're not as bad as you think. But that's despite the government, not because of it. Sometimes the worst thing you can do on limited resources is to work so hard you push yourself to the brink, so the system itself doesn't break, because then people think 'well maybe we can continue like this after all... maybe it's okay'. But things aren't okay. When people say the system is at breaking point - this time it isn't a cliche.
Times
24-04-2025
- Times
Pepper spray to be used in youth custody after surge in assaults
Synthetic pepper spray may be used on children as young as 14 in youth offender institutions (YOIs) after a decision to issue staff with the incapacitant due to a rising numbers of assaults. The decision to equip specialist staff with Pava spray comes as new figures show the rate of assaults in YOIs is around 14 times higher than in adult prisons. Sir Nic Dakin, the minister for youth justice, said: 'This is not a decision we have made lightly, but our overwhelming duty is to keep staff and young people in custody safe.' While the move has been welcomed by the Prison Officers Association (POA), charities including the Howard League and Action for Race Equality have criticised the decision. Pava will be trialled in
Sky News
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Prisons across England and Wales now 98.9% full
Prisons across England and Wales are at their highest capacity for months, with fewer cells available than at any time this year. There are fewer than 1,000 spare prison cells across England and Wales, a record low for this year. Only 961 spaces are now available, meaning prisons are now almost 98.9% full, according to new government figures. It means the prison estate is now under more strain than it has been for months, including when the government was forced to release around 3,000 prisoners early to avoid overcrowding in autumn last year. The Howard League, a charity calling for reform of the prison system, said it shows the system is "failing" and "unsustainable". It added it "could not be clearer that further action is necessary" and called on the government to send fewer people to prison. What do the new figures show? The number of free cells has not fallen below 1,000 for at least the past six months - but now it has, meaning there is only 1.1% capacity spare. There are just 551 empty places in men's prisons, and 261 in women's prisons across England and Wales, as of 14 April. Within the Youth Custody Service, there are 141 empty cells, though this area is thought less of a problem in terms of overcrowding. Ministers will be under renewed pressure to act as prisons have reached 98.9% capacity, with 88,081 men and women serving custodial sentences, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The statistics also show more than 3,200 prisoners are already serving their sentences at home. This means they will typically be subject to strict conditions such as curfews and bans on drinking, which can be monitored by an electronic tag. Could another 'emergency decision' be on the horizon? This is a worse position than before either early release carried out last year, when some inmates were freed after serving only 40% of their sentences, rather than the usual 50%. At the time, the government called it an "emergency decision" and blamed the Conservatives for not creating more capacity while in power. There were just 1,098 spare cells on 6 September 2024 with prisons 98.7% full, according to the MoJ. Around 1,700 people were then freed on 10 September, with the number of spare places - called the headroom - rising to 3,219 on 10 September 2024. The following month, the government found itself in a similar position. Prisons were 98.1% full, with only 1,671 spare cells, as of 21st October. The next day, around 1,100 prisoners were freed, raising the headroom to 3,141. But now the prison estate is in an even worse position, with figures showing the population steadily rising since the start of the year. There were more than 85,000 prisoners behind bars at the start of January, and this has now increased by some 2,500. The government's early release scheme also faced criticism at the time, with the Conservatives branding it a "rookie error by an arrogant and inexperienced government". Numerous other methods are being tried to prevent prison overcrowding, with the government revealing plans to use an emergency measure so that cells in police stations could be used to house inmates. 0:36 Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has also refused to rule out shortening sentences of violent offenders - potentially including these criminals in any future early release schemes. Just last week, Sky News learned that an independent policy review will suggest restricting the use of shorter sentences to send 9,500 fewer people to prison by 2028. Prison situation 'unsustainable' Responding to the figures, Andrew Neilson, the director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "Prisons have been asked to do too much, with too little, for too long, and these prison population figures show that even the early release of thousands of people has not been able to solve this problem for good." He added that more than half of prisons are overcrowded and said "the situation is unsustainable". "Overcrowding and lack of resourcing are contributing to a failing system where the needs of people in prison are overlooked and unmet," he said. "It could not be clearer that further action is necessary. Ministers have acknowledged that they cannot build their way out of this crisis. "We must send fewer people to prison, curb the use of recall after release, and prioritise delivering an effective and responsive probation service that works to cut crime in the community." An MoJ spokesperson said the government "inherited overcrowded prisons, days from collapse". "We introduced emergency measures last summer but we were always clear that longer term action was required," they said. "This includes delivering 14,000 new prison places by 2031, with 900 already delivered and 1,500 more opening this summer. We will also reform sentencing to ensure no government runs out of prison space again."
