Prisons & Probation – Latest News:
- Tue, 22 Apr 2025 19:24:12 +0000: Prison officers in England and Wales to use pepper spray at young offender institutions - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Move to allow use of Pava spray on children follows plans to trial Tasers in adult prisons after demands from prison officers’ union
Prison officers are expected to be allowed to use pepper spray to incapacitate children under plans to curb an increase in violence at young offender institutions.
The use of Pava spray, a synthetic form of pepper spray, across the five YOIs in England and Wales has been under discussion by ministers, the Guardian has been told.
Continue reading... - Tue, 22 Apr 2025 18:55:40 +0000: Badenoch says Labour’s claims to have always defended single-sex spaces are a ‘shameless work of fiction’ – UK politics live - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Minister for women and equality makes statement after supreme court ruling on gender recognition
Some MPs and peers are calling for President Trump not to be invited to address parliament when he visits the UK. In 2017, during Trump’s first presidency, the then Speaker, John Bercow, vetoed a proposal for Trump to address parliamentarians in Westminster Hall.
In an interview with Times Radio this morning, Stephen Morgan, an education minister, said Trump should be allowed to give a speech in parliament. Asked if Trump should be allowed to address MPs and peers, Morgan said:
I look forward to the US president addressing parliament in due course.
Continue reading... - Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:21:42 +0000: I hate the idea of British prison officers carrying stun guns – but it may be our only option | Alex South - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
There’s little chance of rehabilitation in the UK’s dangerously depleted prison system. These weapons might at least keep staff and inmates safe
- Alex South is a former prison officer
It was a hot day in Texas when I visited in 2018. Hotter still inside the walls of the Eastham Unit, the men’s prison near Huntsville where I spent a few hours. My hands were sweaty enough as it was, as I focused my attention on the target board in front of me and practised firing rounds from a small silver pistol.
The men and women with me were wardens at the Eastham Unit. “I wouldn’t do this job without a gun for no amount of money,” said one. These were experienced correctional officers who knew the Texas prison system well. And they were baffled that, as an English prison officer, I didn’t carry a gun. But I felt differently. There were plenty of things that I would have changed about our prison system, but introducing weapons wasn’t one of them.
Alex South is a former prison officer and the author of the memoir Behind These Doors
Continue reading... - Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:00:22 +0000: ‘Employment’s the best way to stop reoffending’: the boss of ready meals firm Cook on the ‘talent’ in prisons - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
The co-founder of the family-run frozen food maker says ethical practices pay dividends on top of financial returns for her business
Rosie Brown, the boss of Cook, never planned to be a chief executive. First, she trained as a nurse, then tried her hand at politics; then banking. But having struggled at first to find her niche, Brown now leads a ready-meal business ranked as the country’s best place to work in food and drink, and is looking to help others find their way in the world of work.
Last year, the co-CEO of the ethical frozen food business took over from shoe-mending-chain boss James Timpson as chair of the Employment Advisory Board network, a government-backed programme started by Timpson which works with more than 90 prisons.
Continue reading... - Mon, 21 Apr 2025 11:00:34 +0000: Concern over ‘asbis’ after report finds people jailed for sleeping rough and feeding birds - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Exclusive: Analysis of antisocial behaviour injunctions found 57% of people had no legal representation at breach hearings that led to imprisonment
Almost 250 people have been imprisoned for breaching antisocial behaviour injunctions (asbis) since 2020, with people being jailed for sleeping rough, begging, feeding birds and making a noise.
Analysis from academics at the universities of York and Coventry found that out of 242 cases examined from 2020-2024, there were 72 cases of imprisonment for general nuisance, 61 for abusive language and 51 for noise.
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