Prisons & Probation – Latest News:
- Tue, 09 Jun 2026 23:02:04 +0000: Grim reality of prison conditions laid bare in damning report - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Inmates in England and Wales live among vermin while gangs control entire wings, monitors warn, with failures ‘at risk of becoming normalised’
The independent monitoring board’s annual report of conditions across the prison estate of England and Wales is stark and unflinching.
Men and women are held for long periods in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, often living alongside vermin.
Continue reading... - Tue, 09 Jun 2026 23:02:04 +0000: Staff at immigration detention centre wore England flags, report finds - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Chair of prisons and detention watchdog concerned about intimidating effect as wide-ranging and damning review published
Staff at an immigration detention centre wore England flags pinned to their uniforms while guarding migrants, a report from the prisons and detention watchdog has revealed.
Their use by staff at one of the Home Office’s short-term holding facilities to detain migrants is revealed in the Independent Monitoring Boards’ national annual report, published on Wednesday, which is based on 127 annual reports about different prisons, young offender institutions and immigration detention centres.
Continue reading... - Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:25:03 +0000: The Guardian view on the care system: support for teens must go beyond reunions with old friends | Editorial - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
A new scheme to support care leavers’ relationships is welcome. But loneliness is one problem among many
It might sound obvious that – as Benjamin Zephaniah wrote – “People will always need people / To make life appealing / And give life some meaning.” But the care system has not always behaved as though relationships are a condition of human flourishing. So it is good to see this simple yet crucial idea reflected in the latest announcement about support for care leavers in England. The broken connections that become a feature of too many young people’s lives are increasingly recognised as a key reason for their later vulnerability.
Some local councils already have support in place for young people who want to reconnect with relatives, trusted adults such as former teachers or social workers, and old friends. Last week the government announced a national version, billed as a Who Do You Think You Are?-style service for care leavers, with an initial budget of £8.4m. The hope is that supporting older teenagers to restore links will reduce the risk of isolation and help them to find their feet. While many care leavers already make a successful transition to independent living, they face disproportionate risks of homelessness, poor mental health, prison and even death.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading... - Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:41:31 +0000: Corrupt Liverpool prison worker jailed for smuggling drugs and sending sex texts to inmates - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
Helen Spree, 63, headed prison watchdog and was said to have become besotted with killer Dylan Westall, 35
A corrupt prison watchdog boss who billed herself “the prisoners’ Deliveroo” has been jailed for five years after admitting sending sexual messages to a killer inmate and smuggling drugs.
Helen Spree, 63, was the head of the independent monitoring board (IMB) for HMP Liverpool when she engaged in illicit chats with prisoners over a 20-month period. Spree was said to have become besotted with Dylan Westall, 35, who was serving a life sentence for manslaughter for shooting a teenager in the head.
Continue reading... - Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:38:21 +0000: Ex-prisoners abandoned at their most vulnerable | Letters - Prisons and probation | The Guardian
James Stoddart and Richard Eltringham respond to an investigation which found that deaths within two weeks of leaving prison have hit a record high
Your investigation showing that deaths within two weeks of release from prison have hit a record high (Report, 31 May) rightly identifies release into homelessness as a primary driver of deaths of ex-prisoners. I would add that the danger is concentrated in the first 72 hours after the gate closes behind you, and that the failures which kill people in that window are often astonishingly basic.
People are routinely released without housing, medication, identification or a bank account, and sometimes without a clear idea of when or where their first probation appointment is. Miss that appointment and the usual consequence is immediate recall back to prison. The figures you cite are not surprising to anyone who has been through it.
Continue reading...