Latest news with #MinistryofJustice
South Wales Argus
7 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Disbelief over Glastonbury words offence when more problems around
No IDF was killed by these words, but in return, the IDF are murdering starving children in an act of genocide and committing daily war crimes. Those same people are not shocked and offended but are even willing to defend the incisive words echoed by Lucy Connolly, who has a history of writing vile, violent words on social media. When I see people holding placards in Epping outside migrant hotels, saying protect our children. It should realise more than 1,500 registered sex offenders are living in Essex, new figures reveal. Ministry of Justice figures show 1,596 registered sex offenders were being managed under MAPPA in the Essex Police area as of March this year. That is a rate of 99 offenders for every 100,000 people, well below the average for England and Wales, of 119. Police forces, probation services and other government agencies keep tabs on dangerous criminals living in communities in England and Wales using special management plans known as Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements. These 1,500 registered sex offenders are mostly British and locals, so where are those so-called worried parents demonstrating against that? In fact, the locals have been motivated by the far-right, just as they did in Southport, to create unrest and riots. Face fact, those police officers outside any hotel are on overtime and should be arresting criminals. Haven't these demonstrators got jobs, with all their free time? Many thanks, Andrew Nutt, Bargoed.
The Irish Sun
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Fury as number of foreign sex offenders & violent criminals jailed in England and Wales hits record high
THE NUMBER of foreign sex and violent offenders locked up in England and Wales has soared to record highs, damning new data reveals. Official figures show 1,731 foreign-national sex offenders were in prison in June - up nearly 10 per cent in a year and almost three times the rate of British offenders. 2 'They need to be kicked out of the country immediately. Starmer must suspend visas and aid until countries take back their nationals', says Robert Jenrick Credit: PA Violent Shadow Justice Secretary "They need to be kicked out of the country immediately. Albanians remain the largest foreign nationality in UK prisons, with 1,193 behind bars - many for drug offences. READ MORE ON PRISONS Poles, Romanians and Irish make up the next biggest groups, followed by Lithuanians and Foreign nationals now account for more than one in 10 sex offenders and violent criminals in custody, and one in five drug offenders. The new figures, published by the Ministry of Justice, follow months of pressure for greater transparency on the nationality of offenders. Some of the Most read in The Sun The Sun also recently revealed that four in ten people charged over sex attacks in London in the last seven years were foreign nationals. Police figures showed these migrants were behind 2,809 of the 7,798 alleged crimes recorded in the capital since 2018 - despite making up less than a quarter of the city's population. Manchester Police Raids smash down doors in early morning raids on postal drug dealers 2 The number of foreign sex and violent offenders locked up in England and Wales has soared to record highs Credit: Getty
The Sun
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Fury as number of foreign sex offenders & violent criminals jailed in England and Wales hits record high
THE NUMBER of foreign sex and violent offenders locked up in England and Wales has soared to record highs, damning new data reveals. Official figures show 1,731 foreign-national sex offenders were in prison in June - up nearly 10 per cent in a year and almost three times the rate of British offenders. 2 Violent foreign inmates hit 3,250 - the highest since records began - with an 8.8 per cent annual rise, nearly double the 4.8 per cent for UK nationals. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: 'Instead of releasing criminals early to free up prison space, the Government must deport every single one of these foreign offenders. "They need to be kicked out of the country immediately. Starmer must suspend visas and aid until countries take back their nationals.' Albanians remain the largest foreign nationality in UK prisons, with 1,193 behind bars - many for drug offences. Poles Romanians and Irish make up the next biggest groups, followed by Lithuanians and Jamaicans. Foreign nationals now account for more than one in 10 sex offenders and violent criminals in custody, and one in five drug offenders. The new figures, published by the Ministry of Justice, follow months of pressure for greater transparency on the nationality of offenders. Some of the protests at asylum hotels have been sparked by alleged sex attacks by migrants. The Sun also recently revealed that four in ten people charged over sex attacks in London in the last seven years were foreign nationals. Police figures showed these migrants were behind 2,809 of the 7,798 alleged crimes recorded in the capital since 2018 - despite making up less than a quarter of the city's population. Manchester Police Raids smash down doors in early morning raids on postal drug dealers 2
The Independent
14 hours ago
- The Independent
Prison homicides and self-harm incidents soar as overcrowding crisis deepens
Homicides, assaults and self-harm incidents have soared in prisons in England and Wales as the overcrowding crisis deepens, damning new figures show. Seven prisoners were killed in the year to June 2025, compared to none the previous year. There are usually three or fewer homicides a year, according to the Ministry of Justice's safety in custody statistics. It comes as overall deaths surged by 30 per cent, after 401 people died in jail in the same period. This includes 86 whose deaths were classed as self-inflicted, down from 93 the previous year. A record 77,898 incidents of self-harm took place in the 12 months to the end of March 2025 – the equivalent of one every seven minutes. Over the same period, prisons recorded 30,846 assaults – up nine per cent – including 3,402 classed as serious. Attacks on staff also surged by 7 per cent, with 10,568 assaults recorded. The alarming figures come as nearly one in five adult prisons in England and Wales have had serious concerns raised about their performance, the highest number since the current system of inspections began. Some 22 jails were given the lowest possible performance ranking in the year to March, up from 15 in the previous 12 months. A further 37 prisons were assessed as being of concern, up from 35. The Ministry of Justice findings note the rise 'may be a reflection of the pressures facing the prison estate', as ministers continue to grapple with overcrowding, violence and drugs in jails. Earlier this month, chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor placed HMP Pentonville into special measures over its 'chaotic' conditions. The mice and cockroach-infested north London jail was the 10th to be served an urgent notification since November 2022, according to the watchdog. The Howard League for Penal Reform warned 'prisons cannot go on like this' and said 'far more' must be done to reduce pressure on the prison population. Its director of campaigns, Andrew Neilson, said: 'It is unconscionable to see the huge rise in deaths in custody, as well as continued spikes in self-harm and in assaults. 'What is happening behind bars matters to all of us, as exposing people to failing institutions where deaths, distress and violence is the norm, is no way to prepare individuals for a safe and crime-free life on release.' Inquest, a charity which investigates state-related deaths, said the figures are further evidence of a prison estate in crisis. 'These figures are yet another devastating indictment of the appalling state of the prison system, and the destructive social harms prison regimes generate for people inside,' said Deborah Coles, Inquest's director. On Monday, a trial of Tasers in prisons used by specialist officers began as part of efforts to curb the levels of violence against prison officers. The government, which has vowed to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031, has also announced a new £900,000 cash boost to tackle drones bringing drugs and weapons into prisons. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has also accepted a string of recommendations following a major report by David Gauke, which will see some offenders serve less of their sentence in custody in sweeping reforms expected to ease pressure on prisons. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'These statistics once again lay bare the extent of the crisis facing our prisons – with levels of violence, assaults on staff and self-harm far too high. 'The government has made it clear it will do whatever we can to protect our hardworking staff – which is why we are trialling tasers in prisons and mandated protective body armour for prison officers working with the most dangerous offenders. "But it is clear fundamental change is needed, which is why we're also reforming our jails so they create better citizens, not better criminals."
Powys County Times
15 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Highest number of prisons found to be of ‘serious concern'
Nearly one in five adult prisons in England and Wales have had serious concerns raised about their performance, the highest number since the current system of inspections began. Some 22 jails – 18.5% of the total – were given the lowest possible ranking in the year to March, up from 15 in the previous 12 months. A further 37 prisons were assessed as being of concern, up from 35. These are the highest number of jails to be placed in these categories since the present system of ranking was introduced in 2017/18. The statistics, which have been released by the Ministry of Justice, note the rise 'may be a reflection of the pressures facing the prison estate', as ministers continue to grapple with overcrowding, violence and drugs in jails. Prison violence is too high. We're taking decisive action. Tasers will now be deployed to highly trained specialist prison officers for extreme emergencies like hostage situations and riots. More: — Ministry of Justice (@MoJGovUK) July 28, 2025 Overall, 59 prisons were rated as either being of concern or serious concern, making up nearly half (49.6%) of all adult institutions, up from 50 prisons (42.0%) in the previous year. Just 12 prisons were rated outstanding in the latest round of inspections, down from 13 in 2023/24 and the lowest number since the current ratings began. The total for best-performing jails peaked at 19 in 2019/2020. Earlier this month, chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor placed HMP Pentonville into special measures over its 'chaotic' conditions. The north London jail was the 10th to be served an urgent notification since November 2022, according to the watchdog. Separate figures published on Thursday show assaults on prison staff in adult prisons in England and Wales have reached another annual record high, with 10,568 in 2024/25. This is up 7% from 9,847 in 2023/24 and a jump of 42% from 7,471 in 2022/23. On Monday, a trial of Tasers in prisons used by specialist officers began as part of efforts to curb the levels of violence against prison officers. It follows high-profile security incidents earlier this year, after four prison officers were allegedly attacked with hot oil and homemade weapons by Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi at HMP Frankland in April. Southport killer Axel Rudakubana also allegedly attacked a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh in May by pouring boiling water over them. Last month, the Independent Monitoring Board's annual report on prisons warned violence remained 'excessively high', which was driven by overcrowding, inadequate mental health support and a surge in drug use. Latest figures also show self-harm incidents hit another record level, with 77,898 incidents across all adult prisons in the year to March – a 6% rise from 73,804 the previous year. Some 12,661 men were reported to have self harmed in the 12-month period, the highest number since current records began five years ago. The number of women who self harmed was 1,163, down slightly from 1,199 in the previous 12-month period. Director of charity Inquest, Deborah Coles, said: 'These figures are yet another devastating indictment of the appalling state of the prison system, and the destructive social harms prison regimes generate for people inside.' A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'This Government inherited a prison system in crisis, and this data shows the pressure they are under as a result. 'We're building 14,000 extra prison places – with 2,400 already delivered. And we are reforming sentencing to ensure we never run out of space again, and prisons get back to creating better citizens, not better criminals.'
