Prisons & Probation – Latest News:
- Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:07:33 +0000: Criminals who refuse to attend sentencing face losing prison privileges under new rules - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
England and Wales judges to be able to keep inmates in cells for longer or stop visits if they refuse to face victims’ families in court
Offenders who refuse to face their victims’ families in court for sentencing could be stripped of privileges or kept in cells for weeks under government changes granting wider powers to judges in England and Wales.
The imposition of new prison sanctions, coming into effect next year, builds on existing laws that order offenders to attend sentencing or face a fine or be jailed for a further two years for contempt of court.
Continue reading... - Sun, 18 Oct 2026 16:18:58 +0000: What gets in the way of prisoners’ rehabilitation | Letters - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Anthony Goodman argues that probation officers have increasingly lost their autonomy, while Joe Sim says rehabilitation will not work in a society divided by brutal social divisions. Plus letters from Chris Parsons and Tracey Burley
Your editorial on overcrowded prisons and probation (13 October) was most welcome as it highlights a crisis in community justice that shows little sign of abating. You say that problems date back to the failed part-privatisation of the probation service, but in reality political interference has been happening for far longer than that.
Having worked for years as a prison probation officer and then in an aftercare and resettlement unit for ex-offenders, I saw good practice and ongoing practical and emotional support that demonstrated all the important points raised by Enver Solomon in his recent Guardian article.
Continue reading... - Sun, 18 Oct 2026 07:00:53 +0000: When you watch the acclaimed TV drama Time, remember this: I’ve seen inside our prisons and they are just as bleak | Alex South - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
The show depicts prisons as places characterised by violence and isolation, with no focus on rehabilitation. It’s depressingly accurate
Alex South is a former prison officer and the author of the memoir Behind These Doors
The new series of Time is not an easy watch. The opening seconds of Jimmy McGovern’s prison drama show a normal woman on a normal bus, as it drives up a normal road. But to the right of that road is a huge concrete wall, topped with barbed wire and CCTV cameras.
The wall is only partly visible, just as prisons themselves tend to occupy a space towards the very edges of our thoughts. They exist, but not as part of normal life. But McGovern’s drama shows just how permeable that wall is.
Alex South is a former prison officer and the author of the memoir Behind These Doors
Continue reading... - Fri, 16 Oct 2026 07:00:54 +0000: Britain is addicted to prisons. Our crumbling probation service proves they don’t work | Polly Toynbee - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
The current system is unable to quench the public thirst for locking people up – and certainly doesn’t ensure proper care once they are released
Public services need more investment across the board. Every day, another wretched story. Look at the Institute for Government’s (IFG) Public Services Performance Tracker for a plain assessment of A&E corridor care, councils struggling to meet the demands of social care and the Send system, the courts backlog, GP caseloads or families lost in temporary accommodation. A chancellor approaching a budget is besieged by need. It’s easy for us journalists to pick out shock stories and claim each one is an absolute priority, but how should a chancellor choose?
Today it’s the probation officers, whose conference in Newcastle is launching a ballot for industrial action. Their caseloads overflowed long ago, but now thousands of prisoners released early – 2,000 this month – have been thrust upon them. The responsibility is overwhelming, with officers blamed for crimes their clients commit.
Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
The headline on this article was amended on 19 October 2026 to reflect the fact that the reports it mentions refer to the prison system of England and Wales, rather than Britain as a whole. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate prison systems.
Continue reading... - Thu, 15 Oct 2026 17:01:35 +0000: Letter: Lord Laming obituary - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Herbert Laming was my supervisor when I joined Nottinghamshire probation service in 1965. He taught me the values of attention to detail and consistency in dealing with offenders.
In return, I persuaded him to play for the Nottingham probation officers’ football team against the young monks based at Kelham Hall, near Newark.
Continue reading...