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The Howard League's weekly prison watch |
November 2002
Howard League wins judicial review against the Home Office (29 Nov) In a landmark decision today the High Court held that the Children Act 1989 applies to children held in prison custody.
The action was brought by the Howard League to challenge the Home Office policy that the Children Act did ?not apply to under 18s in prison establishments.? The judge, Mr Justice Munby, said the Howard League had ?performed a most useful service in bringing to the public attention matters which, on the face of it, ought to shock the conscience of every citizen?.
The decision means that local authorities retain a statutory duty to safeguard the welfare of children even if they are in prison. In practice this is likely to result in more child protection investigations inside prisons and greater involvement of social services in assessing the needs of the most vulnerable children and helping to meet those needs. For more click here.
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Prison population update
Friday 29 November 2002
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Prison population (1)
(29 November)
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72,675 |
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Population the previous Friday (22 November)
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72,751 |
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Population on corresponding Friday in 2001
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68,433 |
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Weekly change |
-76 |
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Yearly change
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+4,242 |
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Women in prison
(29 November)
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4,372 |
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Women on previous Friday (22 November)
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4,341 |
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Boys & girls under 21 years old (29 November) |
11,652 |
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Under 21s on previous Friday (22 November) |
11,109 |
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People held in police cells under Operation Safeguard |
198 |
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Jail population to top 100,000 (24 Nov)
According to an article in The Independent on Sunday, the government is to admit that the prison population is set to rise above 100,000. The prison service is due to publish the figures on Thursday (28th), based on an official forecast of prison numbers from Home Office experts and the Office of National Statistics. The Independent goes on to report that "Ministers have already pledged to build two new jails. But the Probation Service said yesterday an extra 30 jails would be needed at an estimated cost of £2bn". Frances Crook, the Howard League's director added "One prisoner is equal to two firefighters - this is the kind of choice we are going to have to make and what we all know is that prisons don't stop crime".
Criminal Justice Bill goes further than expected (21 Nov) Ministers unveiled wide-ranging proposals when the long-awaited criminal justice bill was introduced on 21 November. For a brief summary of the proposals click here, to download a copy of the bill itself click here.
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Prison population update
Friday 22 November 2002
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Prison population (1)
(22 November)
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72,751 |
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Population the previous Friday (15 November)
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72,709 |
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Population on corresponding Friday in 2001
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68,357 |
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Weekly change |
+42 |
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Yearly change
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+4,394 |
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Women in prison
(22 November)
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4,341 |
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Women on previous Friday (15 November)
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4,364 |
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Boys & girls under 21 years old (22 November) |
11,109 |
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Under 21s on previous Friday (15 November) |
11,684 |
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People held in police cells under Operation Safeguard |
229 |
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Children Act case reaches court (12 Nov) The Howard League’s judicial review against the Home Secretary, arguing that the Children Act 1989 applies to children in prison, was heard on 12 & 13 November. The judgment is expected within two or three weeks.
Supported by Sir David Ramsbotham, the former Chief Inspector of Prisons, and eight national children’s and penal reform charities, the case seeks to impose upon Government a duty to ensure the protections and standards of the Children Act are applied to children in prison. To find out more click here.
Cherie Booth QC calls for Children's Rights Commissioner (12 Nov) On 12 November, The Times previewed an extract from an article by Cherie Booth which is due to appear in December's HLM. In the piece, she expressed concern about the high levels of self harm and suicide by children in prison. She also said that, without a commissioner, the UK will remain vulnerable to criticism such as that by the recent UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and stand accused of being "half hearted" about children's rights. The article in The Times appeared on the same day as the Howard League's Children Act case reached court.
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Prison population update
Friday 15 November 2002
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Prison population (1)
(15 November)
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72,709 |
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Population the previous Friday (8 November)
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72,897 |
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Population on corresponding Friday in 2001
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68,302 |
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Weekly change |
-188 |
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Yearly change
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+4,407 |
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Women in prison
(15 November)
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4,364 |
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Women on previous Friday (8 November)
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4,364 |
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Boys & girls under 21 years old (15 November) |
11,684 |
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Under 21s on previous Friday (8 November) |
11,762 |
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People held in police cells under Operation Safeguard |
207 |
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Send fewer to jail, judges told (4 Nov) In a joint statement, Lord Irvine, the Lord Chancellor, David Blunkett and Lord Goldsmith joined forces to call for a greater use of community-based penalties as an alternative to custody. This plea was reinforced By Lord Woolf in a speech to the Parole Board.
₤70m increase for probation (4 Oct) On 4 November, it was announced that the national probation service will benefit from an increase in funding of over ₤70 million next year to support its programme of modernisation. The service’s total budget will rise from ₤675.8m in 2002/3 to ₤746m in 2003/4. Announcing the increase, Probation Minister, Hilary Benn, said ?The national probation service has come a very long way in a very short time. Latest research shows that the service has reduced reconviction rates for those under its supervision by 3.1 per cent. Considering that reconviction rates have been relatively constant for a decade or more before, this represents real progress. No one can now say that there are no effective alternatives to custody?.
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Prison population update
Friday 8 November 2002
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Prison population (1)
(8 November)
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72,897 |
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Population the previous Friday (1 November)
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73,007 |
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Population on corresponding Friday in 2001
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68,195 |
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Weekly change |
-110 |
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Yearly change
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+4,702 |
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Women in prison
(8 November)
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4,364 |
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Women on previous Friday (1 November)
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4,429 |
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Boys & girls under 21 years old (8 November) |
11,762 |
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Under 21s on previous Friday (1 November) |
11,147 |
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People held in police cells under Operation Safeguard |
328 |
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Early release to ease prison crisis (29 Oct) The Home Office announced that from December, prisoners serving between eight months and four years could be released on an electronic tag a month early. Prisoners sentenced to those terms will have their home detention eligibility increased from 60 to to 90 days. Press here for more.
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Prison population update
Friday 1 November 2002
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Prison population
(1 November)
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72,652 |
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Population the previous Friday (25 October)
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72,669 |
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Population on corresponding Friday in 2001
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68,181 |
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Weekly change |
-17 |
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Yearly change
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+4,471 |
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Women in prison
(1 November)
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4,429 |
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Women on previous Friday (25 October)
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4,407 |
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Boys & girls under 21 years old (1 November) |
11,147 |
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Under 21s on previous Friday (25 October) |
11,715 |
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People held in police cells under Operation Safeguard |
355(2) |
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2002
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2002
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2002
Statistics source: HM Prison Service, England and Wales.
(1) This total includes those prisoners
held in police cells
(2) These numbers are not included in the
prison population total
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