prisons

Not a marginal issue: mental health and the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland

In March 2010, Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) published a report into the treatment of people with mental health problems in the criminal justice system, starting with the police, moving through the prosecution to the courts and ending up with prisons and probation.

The report – while noting some excellent practice – documented a range of deficiencies with current arrangements and highlighted the enormous challenges the treatment of people with mental health issues presented to the criminal justice agencies.

The quantification of prison population projections

This article examines projections, or statistical forecasts, of prison populations from a social perspective, treating them as social actors in their own right. Linear regression – the almost universal foundation of prison population projections – is in simple terms the act of drawing a straight line through the data at an angle which best ‘fits’ the observed data, that is, what has already happened.

Evaluating the effectiveness of home detention curfew and open prison in Scotland

Home Detention Curfew (HDC) and open prison are both forms of ‘conditional liberty’, where prisoners are allowed controlled access to the community. Schemes of conditional liberty are intended to provide a gradual transition from prison to community thus facilitating a person’s reintegration. On an HDC licence, prisoners live at home but must wear an electronically monitored tag and keep to a curfew; in open prison, prisoners live at the prison but can be granted home leave and participate in activities that prepare them for release.

Reducing the numbers in custody: looking beyond criminal justice solutions

The second and final paper in the Reform Sector Strategies project funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

The two papers produced as part of this work intend to generate debate among those committed to reducing the prison population on how to tackle prison expansion in England and Wales and bring about a reduction in the prison population in the longer term.

RSA transitions: a social enterprise approach to prison and rehabilitation

Paper commissioned by the RSA to inform the development of a major new practical project it is considering.

It aims to set out a vision for RSA Transitions, a new model of community prison and “through the gate” provision which would be designed, built and managed around a culture of learning and social enterprise with the aim of rehabilitating people through increasing their capacity to work and resettle.