Prisons & Probation – Latest News:
- Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:01:21 +0000: Thousands of offenders in England to get health support at probation meetings - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Exclusive: NHS clinicians will sit in on appointments in pilot scheme in four areas aimed at reducing reoffending
About 4,000 offenders in England will get targeted healthcare sessions during their probation appointments as part of a new pilot scheme.
Offenders are far more likely to have poor physical or mental health or addiction issues, which increases the likelihood of reoffending.
Continue reading... - Wed, 07 Jan 2026 08:00:37 +0000: Let’s be clear: if the Palestine Action hunger strikers die, the government will bear moral responsibility | George Monbiot - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
The three remaining hunger strikers have been convicted of nothing. Yet with astonishing cruelty, ministers refuse to listen to their reasonable demands
They are far into the lethal zone. Three people who are being held in prison on charges connected with the protest group Palestine Action have been on hunger strike for 45, 59 and 66 days. A fourth prisoner, Teuta Hoxha, ended her strike this week, after 58 days. She could suffer lifelong health effects. The remaining strikers, Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed and Lewie Chiaramello, could pass away at any time. The 10 IRA and INLA hunger strikers who died in 1981 survived for between 46 and 73 days. Muraisi, whose strike has lasted the longest, is, according to supporters, now struggling to breathe and suffering uncontrollable muscle spasms – possible signs of neurological damage. Yet the government refuses to engage.
It created this situation. The Crown Prosecution Service states that the maximum time a prisoner can spend on remand is 182 days (six months). Yet Muraisi and Ahmed were arrested in November 2024, and are not due to be tried until June at the earliest, which means they will be remanded for 20 months. Chiaramello, who was arrested in July 2025, has a provisional court date in January 2027, which means 18 months in prison without trial.
George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist
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Continue reading... - Wed, 07 Jan 2026 05:00:35 +0000: ‘Catastrophic’ MoJ leasing of jail with toxic gas set to cost more than £100m - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
MPs criticise 10-year deal struck in ‘blind panic’ to rent Dartmoor prison, where high levels of radon had been detected
A “catastrophic” decision by the Ministry of Justice to sign a 10-year lease on a prison where high levels of a poisonous gas had been detected is expected to cost the UK taxpayer more than £100m, parliament’s spending watchdog has concluded.
The public accounts committee said the 2022 deal to rent HMP Dartmoor from the Duchy of Cornwall was signed “in a blind panic” by senior civil servants looking to guarantee prison places.
Continue reading... - Sun, 04 Jan 2026 20:04:19 +0000: Tom Tickell obituary - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
My uncle Tom Tickell, who has died aged 82, had a long and successful career in journalism.
From 1970 until 1982 he was the personal finance editor at the Guardian, offering excellent advice for readers, though he may not always have followed it himself. He went on to work for the Mail on Sunday (1982-84) and the Sunday Telegraph (1991-94), and then as a freelancer until 2004, with personal finance the main theme.
Continue reading... - Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:17:35 +0000: Offenders in England and Wales to have alcohol levels tracked over new year period - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Sobriety tags worn by thousands released from prison or serving community sentences will monitor wearers’ sweat
Thousands of offenders in England and Wales will have their alcohol levels tracked over the new year festive period by electronic tags that monitor the wearer’s sweat.
The tags, which are now worn by 5,000 people who have been released from prison or who are serving a community sentence, are designed to keep criminals sober over the festive season and drive down drink-fuelled reoffending.
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