"While there are some welcome proposals...this Sentencing Bill ultimately ducks the primary reason prison numbers will continue to grow at unsustainable levels over the coming years: sentence inflation." Our briefing as the Sentencing Bill gets its Second Reading: howardleague.org/briefing-on-...

The government’s decision to authorise the use of PAVA spray in prisons holding children will be challenged in the High Court after we were given the green light to take the case forward to a judicial review. Read our press release: howardleague.org/news/high-co...

WATCH: We convened an expert working group to come up with six recommendations that would end the IPP scandal for good. The first is to provide people with a certain release date within two years. Laura Janes KC (Hon.) explains:

"Complex legislation can carry unintended consequences...We do not want to see people set up to fail and spending longer than necessary behind bars." Our response to the Sentencing Bill, which was presented in Parliament today: howardleague.org/news/howard-...

"In a rare interview, Mr Jones said new measures put forward last month by the Howard League for Penal Reform and former lord chief justice John Thomas have 'real merit'..." www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...

“Instead of arming staff, the way to improve safety is to close failing young offender institutions and ensure that children are accommodated in more appropriate settings – such as secure children’s homes – where they can be given the care and support they need.” www.cypnow.co.uk/content/news...

Eighty-five per cent of the boys in Werrington prison were not receiving their entitlement of 15 hours of education per week. Read this blog post from our Legal Director Gemma Abbott on the failures of prisons holding children: howardleague.org/blo...

When inspectors visited Feltham prison in May and June, they found boys locked in their cells for 20 hours a day with education sessions often cancelled at short notice. Use of force was too high, and the prison had no plan to reduce it. Our response: howardleague.org/news/feltham...

Every child deserves to fulfil their potential, but children are locked away with limited human contact or education. Now the government is rolling out PAVA – a chemical irritant that can cause severe pain – in prisons holding children.

In her recent report, Dame Anne Owers wrote that the prison capacity crisis stems from the “irresistible pressure for more and longer prison sentences.” Read our explainer article to understand how longer sentences have fuelled this crisis:

Far from keeping children and staff safe, using PAVA spray will normalise violence and undermine trust between staff and the boys in their care, making conditions even worse. Please support our campaign against the rollout of PAVA in children’s prisons:

Eighty-five per cent of the boys in Werrington prison were not receiving their entitlement of 15 hours of education per week. Read this blog post from our Legal Director Gemma Abbott on the failures of prisons holding children: howardleague.org/blo...

Children in prisons in England are typically being kept in their cells for about 20 hours per day and receiving less than 15 hours of education per week. Our updated guide with IPSEA highlights an urgent need to improve education for children with special educational needs:

Official figures show that 401 people died in prison last year – a 30% rise in deaths overall. Read our response:

Every child deserves to fulfil their potential, but children are locked away with limited human contact or education. Now the government is rolling out PAVA – a chemical irritant that can cause severe pain – in prisons holding children.

“In one case, a boy did not come out of his cell for 10 days.” Read this blog post from our Legal Director Gemma Abbott on the failures of prisons holding children: howardleague.org/blo...

Children in prisons in England are typically being kept in their cells for about 20 hours per day and receiving less than 15 hours of education per week. Our updated guide with IPSEA highlights an urgent need to improve education for children with special educational needs:

“Pledges to build more prison places risk simply making a dysfunctional system even larger and even more dysfunctional again.” Read our response to the Independent Review of Prison Capacity by Dame Anne Owers:

2. ⛓️ 22 prisons were rated as of 'serious concern' last year, the highest number since current records began in 2011-12. @thehowardleague.bsky.social said prisons have been "asked to do too much, with too little, for too long" 📝 @adamcare.bsky.social www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/crime/w...

NEW: Prison performance More prisons received the lowest possible rating last year, while 11 received the most serious 'urgent notification'. @thehowardleague.bsky.social said prisons "have been asked to do too much, with too little, for too long" 🔗: app.radarai.com

IPP sentences were abolished in 2012, but thousands of people remain in prison serving them today. An expert working group chaired by Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd put together six recommendations to end the IPP scandal for good. Read their full report here: howardleague.org/pub...

“Prison capacity crises will keep recurring unless there is sufficient investment outside prison. It is time to stop pouring money into new prisons and to start investing in services that can cut crime.” Our response to the Independent Review of Prison Capacity: howardleague.org/news/decades...

We're working to end the detention of people on IPP and 'two-strike' prison sentences. Find out why thousands of people are still in prison serving sentences that were abolished many years ago: howardleague.org/wha...

"This is a truly shocking report and children at Oakhill have been profoundly failed." Oakhill has been issued its second Urgent Notification after inspectors found serious and systemic failures. The prison holds children as young as 12. Read our response: howardleague.org/news/howard-...

“Prisons cannot go on like this. It is unconscionable to see the huge rise in deaths in custody, as well as continued spikes in self-harm and in assaults." A staggering 401 people died in prison in the last year. Read our response to MoJ's safety in custody stats: howardleague.org/news/shockin...

Why are prisons in England and Wales so overcrowded? Read our explainer article to find out how we got into this mess, and the steps we could take to get out of it: howardleague.org/why...

"That any prison would report such poor standards is shocking, but to read of such standards in an institution holding children is inexcusable." ➡️Our latest blog from Legal Director, @gemabbott.bsky.social, on failures at Werrington and why PAVA is not the answer: howardleague.org/blog/pava-wi...

Werrington is one of three prisons where the government plans to authorize the use of PAVA spray on children. HMIP's report underlines why this is a step in the wrong direction. Read more about our campaign against the rollout of PAVA in children's prisons here: howardleague.org/pava-spray-q...

A concerning report from @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social confirmed that children at Werrington prison are spending too much time in their cells and receiving less than 15 hours of education per week. Read more on the state of education in children's prisons here: howardleague.org/news/reveale...

Let's stop PAVA spray being used on children in prison. Please support us as we prepare to challenge the government in the High Court: www.crowdjustice.com...

We're working to end the detention of people on IPP and 'two-strike' prison sentences. Find out why thousands of people are still in prison serving sentences that were abolished many years ago: howardleague.org/wha...

Why are prisons in England and Wales so overcrowded? Read our explainer article to find out how we got into this mess, and the steps we could take to get out of it: howardleague.org/why...

We have begun legal proceedings in the High Court to challenge the government’s decision to authorise the use of PAVA spray in prisons holding children. Please support us: www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-th...

“My brother, Azroy Dawes-Clarke, died in the most shocking circumstances, restrained, neglected, and dehumanised while prison staff and paramedics who were trained to save lives stood by and did nothing." www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/a...

NEW: We have begun legal proceedings in the High Court to challenge the government’s decision to authorise the use of PAVA spray in prisons holding children. Read more: howardleague.org/news/howard-...

There are 87,835 people in prison in England and Wales today. The prison population is 217 higher than it was last week and 137 higher than it was at the same point last year. Find out more: howardleague.org/pri... Image: Andy Aitchison

"As report cards go, such a dire account of dysfunction in Pentonville instils little confidence that ministers have a grip of the situation." Our response to the Pentonville prison inspection, covered by the Mirror: www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...

“The details emerging from this inspection are appalling and outrageous, and they represent a new low for an overcrowded and under-resourced public service that stands on the brink of collapse." Pentonville prison has been issued with an urgent notification. howardleague.org/news/urgent-...

We're working to end the detention of people on IPP and 'two-strike' prison sentences. Find out why thousands of people are still in prison serving sentences that were abolished many years ago: howardleague.org/wha...

Why is sentencing reform so vital? Read our explainer article to find out how sentences have got longer and longer, contributing to the prison capacity crisis: howardleague.org/wha...

“Increasingly, it has felt like the Chief Inspector has been reduced to ringing an alarm bell that has no clapper in it and does not make any sound.” Our Director of Campaigns gave evidence to a parliamentary inquiry about the prisons crisis. Report: committees.parliament.uk/work/8565/pr...

Why are prisons in England and Wales so overcrowded? Read our explainer article to find out how we got into this mess, and the steps we could take to get out of it: howardleague.org/why...

OK, we need to talk about sentencing. howardleague.org/what-is-sent...

Drones are delivering drugs and weapons into prisons across the country, with the chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor telling #Newsnight that some jails have effectively ceded their airspace to criminals.

EXCLUSIVE: Newsnight filmed a drone dropping a large package into HMP Wandsworth prison. This was filmed at 3.30am on 21 June behind the category B men's prison, which houses sex offenders and terrorists. #Newsnight

"I think that the proposal that the Howard League and Lord Thomas have come up with is certainly worthy of careful consideration.” Former Justice Secretary Alex Chalk discusses our working group's recommendations to end the IPP scandal: www.independent.co.u...

"I think that the proposal that the Howard League and Lord Thomas have come up with is certainly worthy of careful consideration.” Former Justice Secretary Alex Chalk discusses our working group's recommendations to end the IPP scandal: www.independent.co.u...

Victorian jails. Sentence inflation. IPP. Prison overcrowding. Just some of the topics we have covered in our Spotlights events so far. Watch the full series here: howardleague.org/spo...

"Tragically, the PPO started investigations into 486 deaths last year, a 35% increase on the year before. There were 398 deaths in prisons (106 more than last year). 73 people died in the first 14 days post-release (20 more)..."

Why is sentencing reform so vital? Read our explainer article to find out how sentences have got longer and longer, contributing to the prison capacity crisis: howardleague.org/wha...