Tag: Ministry of Justice

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 2 December 2022.

Changes to help reduce reoffending by making sure vulnerable prison leavers get ample time to access vital support services will be introduced under a new bill that gained government support today.

Around 1 in 3 prisoners leave prison on a Friday – giving them just a few short hours to find a bed for the night, register with a GP and sign up for job support before services close for the weekend.

This race against the clock can leave ex-offenders homeless and without support, increasing their chances of committing further crimes.

This is particularly true for ex-offenders with substance misuse problems, mental health issues or at real risk of homelessness. Ex-offenders with safe accommodation are around 50% less likely to slip back into a life of criminality.

Under Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Private Members Bill, which passed second reading today, offenders scheduled for release on a Friday who also have mental health issues, substance misuse problems, or far to travel home will be released on Wednesday or Thursday instead, following strict security checks.

The bill was brought forward by Simon Fell MP and delivers on the government’s pledge Prisons Strategy White Paper, published in December last year.

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab said:

Protecting the public is my top priority and we know access to housing, job support and substance misuse services are crucial in helping ex-offenders stay on the straight and narrow.

By ending Friday releases for certain prisoners we will reduce reoffending and cut crime, making our communities safer.

Prisons Minister, Damian Hinds, said:

Ending Friday releases for prisoners at risk of reoffending is a common-sense change that will ultimately result in less crime and fewer victims.

This is just the latest way in which we will drive down the £18 billion cost of reoffending, alongside tougher monitoring, better education and drug treatment.

The government has already made considerable progress in tackling stubborn reoffending rates, which have decreased over the past 10 years from 30.9% in 2009/10 to 25.6% in 2019/20.

The Prisons Strategy White Paper also outlines a package of sweeping reforms to skill up offenders to find work on release, tackle substance misuse problems and create 20,000 modern places in order to cut crime and keep the public safe.

This includes bolstering links between prisons and employers and ensuring prisoners can find work on release through a dedicated Prisoner Education Service to raise levels of literacy, numeracy, skills and qualifications.

Nacro chief executive, Campbell Robb, said:

Our campaign to end Friday prison releases was driven by the experience of our service users and our staff, and we are really pleased to see this small, but significant change one step closer to becoming law. For too long, Friday releases have been setting people up to fail.

Through this legislation, people with high resettlement needs will have that vital extra time during the working week to access the services they need – including securing housing, registering with a GP, meeting probation and accessing health services. This will give people the best chance at a second chance and play a role in helping to reduce reoffending.

Alongside this, prisons have also rolled out tough new security measures which have thwarted over 20,000 plots to smuggle drugs, phones, and weapons into prisons over the past 2 years. The department will invest £75 million a year by 2024/25 in expanding the use of alcohol monitoring tags and £780 million in treatment for offenders addicted to alcohol or drugs.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 30 November 2022.

Criminal legal aid lawyers will receive the biggest boost to their pay in decades thanks to wide-ranging reforms announced by the government today.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 28 November 2022.

Under a new scheme, survivors will be better protected from domestic abusers who attempt to continue their campaign of terror from behind bars.

Under the scheme, police forces, prison governors and victims’ services will work hand-in-glove to automatically block offenders from calling or sending threatening letters to their victims.

The new Unwanted Prisoner Contact Service – trialled at Kent and Thames Valley earlier this year – will act immediately on any intelligence to contact jails and block offenders from sending further communications.

In practice, this will mean offenders will be physically unable to dial their victim’s number from the prison landings or send out letters to the victim’s address as these contact detail will automatically be barred.

Crucially, the new scheme means survivors will not have to ask for help themselves, with other agencies and support services able to contact the service on their behalf – protecting them from further trauma.

By creating a single hub for police victims and support agencies, the new service will ensure a speedier response with dedicated case handlers quickly locating offenders and blocking contact. It will also prevent abusers from using other offenders to torment their victims by barring victims’ contact details from all prison phones.

Minister for Prisons and Probation, Damian Hinds, said:

We will never tolerate domestic abusers who seek to continue their campaign of abuse from behind bars and will always take tough action against the prisoners responsible.

This new service delivers on our commitments in the national Domestic Abuse Plan and will better protect victims once their cowardly abusers are jailed.

During successful pilots, hundreds of victims came forward to request contact was blocked – showing the new model is more accessible and effective in identifying and protecting victims.

Diana Fawcett, Chief Executive of Victim Support, said:

Unwanted contact from offenders is frightening and stressful. It can stop victims from moving on with their lives and, particularly in cases of domestic abuse, is often used to intimidate victims and continue campaigns of abuse.

We welcome steps to make it easier and quicker to take action and hope that this will make a real difference for victims.

The move delivers on the cross-government Domestic Abuse Plan which sets out investment of £140 million to support victims and £81 million to tackle perpetrators.

The government also continues to implement the Domestic Abuse Act which recognises all forms of abuse beyond physical violence, introduces new offences for non-fatal strangulation and so-called revenge porn, as well as preventing abusers from being able to directly cross-examine their victims in family and civil courts. The vast majority of measures are now in force.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 28 November 2022.

Helen Pitcher OBE announced as preferred candidate for next Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission.

The Lord Chancellor, Rt Hon. Dominic Raab MP, confirmed today (28 November 2022) that the preferred candidate to be the next Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission is Helen Pitcher OBE.

The Judicial Appointments Commission is the statutory independent selection body for judicial appointments in the courts and tribunals of England and Wales, and for some UK-wide tribunals.

Helen Pitcher has been selected following a rigorous assessment process conducted in accordance with Schedule 12 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. The Chair is appointed by His Majesty the King on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor.

The role is subject to pre-appointment hearing by the Justice Select Committee. Pre-appointment scrutiny is an important part of the appointment process for some of the most significant public appointments made by Ministers. It is designed to provide an added level of scrutiny to the appointment process. Pre-appointment hearings are held in public and allow a Select Committee to take evidence before a candidate is appointed. Ministers consider the Committee’s views before deciding whether to proceed with the appointment.

Helen Pitcher Biography

Helen Pitcher OBE is currently chair of the: Criminal Case Review Commission: the Public Chairs Forum and; Advanced Boardroom Excellence Ltd. Ms Pitcher holds two Non-Executive roles: C and C Group and; UB UK. Prior to this Ms Pitcher was: Chairman of Pladis Global between 2015-19; the Queen’s Counsel Selection Panel between 2009-17 and; Director at Saville Group PLC between 2008-13.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 28 November 2022.

A new app to boost prison leavers’ literacy is the latest part of a £20 million government plan to reduce reoffending through innovation.

It will be trialled with 300 offenders in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, starting this month, encouraging them to improve their reading skills and turn their backs on crime.

Prisoners who engage in education behind bars are 9 percentage points less likely to reoffend, but with more than half of them having the reading ability of a primary school child they can continue to struggle after release.

The app gives offenders who have left the prison gates the ability to improve their literacy with additional help from trained mentors – filling a skills gap and boosting their chances of getting a job.

Prisons and Probation Minister, Damian Hinds MP, said:

Literacy is the key to so many routes away from crime and we know that prisoners engaging in education are significantly less likely to reoffend.

That’s why we’re investing £20 million in fantastic ideas like this literacy app, as we look at innovative ways to make our communities safer.

The app – Turning Pages Digital – launches a year after the government challenged the tech sector to come up with new ways to keep offenders on the straight and narrow.

The £20 million Prison Leavers Project is tackling the drivers of crime – including poor educational standards, unemployment and substance misuse – to help cut the £18 billion cost of reoffending.

Turning Pages Digital is the brainchild of tech company Yalla Cooperative and the Shannon Trust, a charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged people to learn to read. The Trust already works in around 80 prisons and is now using the app to support offenders in the community.

Pank Sethi, a Shannon Trust board member, was a reading mentor during his time in prison for drugs-related offences. He said:

I helped a learner read his five-year-old daughter’s note saying ‘I love you daddy’ for the first time and have supported another who is now at university.

It’s not just about education or getting a job, it’s about the positive impact that literacy has on an individual’s whole life and wider family – that’s why the app matters.

The new app is based on the Shannon Trust’s ‘Turning Pages’ educational support book, which mentors use to teach offenders to read in prison. The charity also trains prisoners to become reading mentors so they can help others to progress.

Another app, My Journey, has been developed by Swansea University, tech firm Legal Innovation Lab Wales, and Welsh reducing reoffending charity Include UK.

It links offenders with community-based support services that are vital to keeping them on the straight and narrow and is being tested with 300 prison leavers from HMP Swansea and HMP Parc.

Both pilots are part of the government’s Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge, a £1.45 million fund aimed at developing tech solutions to reduce reoffending which is part of the wider Prison Leavers Project.

The government is also investing £550 million over the next 3 years to reduce reoffending by getting offenders off drugs and into training, work and stable accommodation.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 28 November 2022.

Thousands more people will get access to early legal help over the next 2 years after the government announced £12 million of new grant funding today. (28 November 2022).

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 25 November 2022.

Victims will be better protected from abusers who share intimate images without their consent, under a raft of changes to the law announced today.

Under a planned amendment to the Online Safety Bill, people who share so-called ‘deepfakes’ – explicit images or videos which have been manipulated to look like someone without their consent – will be among those to be specifically criminalised for the first time and face potential time behind bars.

The government will also bring forward a package of additional laws to tackle a range of abusive behaviour including the installation of equipment, such as hidden cameras, to take or record images of someone without their consent.

These will cover so-called ‘downblousing’ – where photos are taken down a woman’s top without consent – allowing police and prosecutors to pursue such cases more effectively.

This will deliver on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to criminalise the practice, in line with previous measures this government has taken to outlaw ‘upskirting’.

Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab, said:

We must do more to protect women and girls, from people who take or manipulate intimate photos in order to hound or humiliate them.

Our changes will give police and prosecutors the powers they need to bring these cowards to justice and safeguard women and girls from such vile abuse.

Today’s announcement builds on the campaign of Dame Maria Miller MP, as well as recommendations from the Law Commission, to introduce reforms to the laws covering the abuse of images.

The amendment to the Online Safety Bill will broaden the scope of current intimate image offences, so that more perpetrators will face prosecution and potentially time in jail.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, said:

I welcome these moves by the government which aim to make victims and survivors safer online, on the streets and in their own homes.

I am pleased to see this commitment in the Online Safety Bill, and hope to see it continue its progression through Parliament at the earliest opportunity.

Around 1 in 14 adults in England and Wales have experienced a threat to share intimate images, with more than 28,000 reports of disclosing private sexual images without consent recorded by police between April 2015 and December 2021.

The package of reforms follows growing global concerns around the abuse of new technology, including the increased prevalence of deepfakes. These typically involve the use of editing software to make and share fake images or videos of a person without their consent, which are often pornographic in nature. A website that virtually strips women naked received 38 million hits in the first 8 months of 2021.

The government will take forward several of the Law Commission’s recommendations to ensure legislation keeps pace with technology and can effectively tackle emerging forms of abuse. This includes:

• Repealing and replacing current legislation with new offences to simplify the law and make it easier to prosecute cases. This includes a new base offence of sharing an intimate image without consent and 2 more serious offences based on intent to cause humiliation, alarm, or distress and for obtaining sexual gratification.
• Creation of 2 specific offences for threatening to share and installing equipment to enable images to be taken.
• Criminalising the non-consensual sharing of manufactured intimate images (more commonly known as deepfakes).

The move builds on government action in recent years to better protect victims and bring more offenders to justice, including making ‘upskirting’ and ‘breastfeeding voyeurism’ specific criminal offences, extending ‘revenge porn’ laws to capture threats to share such images, and using the Online Safety Bill to create an offence specifically targeting ‘cyberflashing’.

Ruth Davison, CEO of Refuge, said:

Refuge welcomes these reforms and is pleased to see progress in tackling abuse perpetrated via technology. As the only frontline service with a specialist tech abuse team, Refuge is uniquely placed to support survivors who experience this form of abuse.

We campaigned successfully for threatening to share intimate images with intent to cause distress to be made a crime, via the Domestic Abuse Act, and these reforms will further ensure police and law enforcement agencies rightly investigate and prosecute these serious offences.

Tech abuse can take many forms, and Refuge hopes that these changes will signal the start of a much broader conversation on the need for strengthening the response to online abuse and harm.

DCMS Secretary of State Michelle Donelan said:

Through the Online Safety Bill, I am ensuring that tech firms will have to stop illegal content and protect children on their platforms, but we will also upgrade criminal law to prevent appalling offences like cyberflashing.

With these latest additions to the Bill, our laws will go even further to shield women and children, who are disproportionately affected, from this horrendous abuse once and for all.

The government will bring forward the wider package of changes as soon as parliamentary time allows and will announce further details in due course.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 20 November 2022.

Terrorists who continue offending in prison will always face the prospect of more time behind bars, the Deputy Prime Minister announced today.

Under the tough new measures, all terrorist offenders who commit further crimes in jail – however minor – will be automatically referred within a week for a police investigation and potential prosecution.

This will increase the likelihood of them being locked up for significantly longer and create a strong deterrent against further offending.

Currently, additional offences carried out inside jail – such as vandalising cells or dealing in contraband – are often dealt with by prison governors, with a maximum penalty of only 42 days added to an existing sentence.

Today’s change means they could face much longer sentences if convicted in court.

The agreement between HM Prison and Probation Service, Counter-Terror Policing and the Crown Prosecution Service fulfils a key recommendation from Jonathan Hall KC’s landmark independent review into terrorism in prisons.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, said:

Terrorist offenders pose a grave risk to public safety and they must face the full consequences of their actions – whether on the street or behind bars.

This important change means any transgression will come with the prospect of significantly more prison time and keep our communities safer, for longer, from those unwilling to change their ways.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Matt Jukes, said:

Our core mission at Counter Terrorism Policing is keeping the public and our communities safe from the enduring and evolving terrorist threat.

This agreement demonstrates that our efforts to mitigate that threat, and protect our national security, are far-reaching and rely on collaboration with our partners.

Director of Legal Services, Crown Prosecution Service, Gregor McGill, said:

When a crime is committed in a prison there are serious consequences.

Today’s updated agreement continues to ensure that police, prisons and the CPS work together to investigate and prosecute prisoners who commit acts of terrorism or serious violence, wherever our legal test is met.

Those who commit crimes while serving their sentences risk further charges and longer sentences.

The agreement will make sure that breaches in behaviour by those linked to terror face the full scrutiny of counter-terrorism authorities – so that those who remain a threat are kept behind bars for as long as possible.

Those alleged to have committed potential terrorist acts in prison will continue to be referred to specialist police as part of the new pact, due to come into force in the coming months.

Today’s news is just the latest step in the Government’s drive to clamp down on dangerous and influential terrorists and keep the public safe.

Ministers have already delivered the largest overhaul of terrorist sentencing and supervision in decades, including ending the automatic early release of terrorist offenders and tougher sentences for the most serious crimes.

And in April this year, the Deputy Prime Minister unveiled measures to crack down on terrorist activity behind bars, in response to an independent review by Jonathan Hall KC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation.

As part of these measures, a new £1.2 million team will ensure the most influential terrorists can be moved to one of the Prison Service’s ‘Separation Centres’ – completely apart from the main prison population.

In addition, £6 million will be invested to expand ‘Close Supervision Centres’, where the most physically violent offenders can be held – including terrorists. This will prevent their potential recruitment to extremist causes.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 19 November 2022.

Nearly 1,000 prison leavers have been tagged in the first year of a scheme designed to crackdown on booze-fuelled crime.

Under the scheme, offenders released from prison are fitted with alcohol monitoring tags if their probation officer thinks they are likely to reoffend when drinking. Those who break the rules set by the Probation Service around their drinking face being sent back to jail.

The initiative was launched in Wales last November and rolled out to England in June as part of government plans to stamp out the scourge of alcohol-related crime.

Alcohol plays a part in 39 per cent of all violent crime in the UK and roughly 20 per cent of offenders supervised by the Probation Service are classed as having an alcohol problem.

Around 12,000 orders requiring offenders to wear alcohol tags are expected to be issued over the next three years, covering both prison leavers and those serving community sentences.

Prisons and Probation Minister, Damian Hinds MP, said:

When more than a third of all violent crime is fuelled by alcohol, these tags provide vital monitoring to help cut reoffending and protect our communities.

Roughly 12,000 offenders will have benefitted from these innovative tags by 2025 – helping them to make positive changes to their lives and making the streets safer.

The tags help probation officers monitor offenders’ behaviour and support them to turn their backs on crime. They also provide offenders with the incentive to break bad habits as breaching their licence condition could see them back in prison.

Natasha (not her real name), aged 22, from Cardiff, has been on a tag since the beginning of September. She said:

I was nervous about being tagged but it does help. It’s a physical reminder for me not to drink.

I’ve been on probation before but this time I’m doing really well. I’m sober and not getting in trouble.

An offender’s licence will stipulate that the alcohol tag must be worn for a minimum of 30 days up to a maximum of one year. Those getting tagged either have a licence condition which requires them to go teetotal or have their drinking levels monitored during this time.

Judges and magistrates have handed down 5,939 alcohol tagging orders to offenders serving community sentences since October 2020.

Last year, the government launched another world-first, using GPS tags to track robbers, thieves and burglars. Around 10,000 tagging orders are expected to be made over the next three years to help stop criminals from reoffending and help police catch them if they carry on.

The move is part of the government’s plan to tackle crime, expanding the use of innovative technology to protect the public and drive down reoffending. The £183 million investment over the next 3 years will nearly double the number of defendants on tags at any one time from 13,500 in 2021 to 25,000 by 2025.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 17 November 2022.

Proposals that were put before the attendees included a graphic design consultancy and personal fitness business, as offenders bid for start-up funding at a unique event inside HMP Thorn Cross, in Cheshire.

The ‘Dragons’ – comprising local entrepreneurs, the public and ex-offenders who have started their own companies – voted for their favourite plan to help get it off the ground once the prisoner is released.

The winner was announced today by Prisons Minister Damian Hinds and will receive a grant of £400 – backed by Entrepreneurs Unlocked – which will support them in getting their business off the ground upon release, helping them to stay on the straight and narrow. Runners up were awarded £300 each.

Minister for Prisons and Probation Damian Hinds said:

Getting ex-prisoners into work cuts reoffending and makes our streets safer.

Entrepreneurship drives our economy and can provide a promising path for those who are ready to turn their lives around. It is heartening to see prisoners demonstrate the skills needed to succeed in business and life.

The event, which took place in Global Entrepreneurship Week, is the culmination of a 12-week course run by charity Entrepreneurs Unlocked, which aims to give prisoners an insight into the realities of running a business.

Sessions include training in finance, marketing, sales planning and developing a product or service – providing participants with the skills they need to integrate back into society and put a life of crime behind them.

Entrepreneurs Unlocked founder David Morgan said:

The Hidden Entrepreneur event is the first of event of its kind to showcase the entrepreneurial talent of people in prison. We will highlight this pathway for people that not only reduces the risk of re-offending but also demonstrates the social and economic value of entrepreneurship.

I am grateful to HMP Thorn Cross for allowing us to host the event, to all of our speakers for sharing their inspirational stories, and to all the businesses who joined us as together we can really make a difference in people’s lives by supporting them on their new entrepreneurial pathway.

Attendees at the event heard from a range of inspiring ex-offenders who have been successful in setting up their own businesses. These included H.M.Pasties, a start-up which works to ‘bring out the good inside’ by employing ex-offenders to make and sell pasties.

Getting prisoners into work is a tried-and-tested way of cutting re-offending – with those who get a job after prison being up to nine percentage points less likely to reoffend.

The Government’s Prisons White Paper sets out a strategy to reduce reoffending and keep the public safe, with a laser-focus on helping prisoners develop the skills they need to find work on release and turn their backs on crime.

The government is investing to reduce reoffending, which includes helping prisoners develop the skills they need to find work on release and turn their backs on crime.

The Prison Service’s (HMPPS) New Futures Network has been set up to connect businesses with prisons so employers can find and train a pipeline of skilled, motivated workers to fulfil their recruitment needs within a variety of key industries.

Earlier this year, the government changed the law so prisoners in open prisons can apply for apprenticeships in vital industries – and in October 2022 the first prisoners started their apprenticeships at big-name employers including Timpson and Greene King.