Ben Jennings on the prison overcrowding crisis in England and Wales – cartoon | Ben Jennings | The Guardian www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Unpaid work stats for quarter to 30 June 2025 show more pressure on probation: 1,664,320 hours UPW sentenced UP 5.9% 1,140,910 hours UPW credited DOWN 0.9% So a deficit of >500,000 hours www.gov.uk/government/p...

ACMD report on carisoprodol concludes that this muscle relaxant is increasingly available on the illegal market and should be added to Class C of Misuse of Drugs Act www.gov.uk/government/p...

Everything you need to know about the health of people in prison and on probation New landmark report on the health of people in prison, on probation and in the secure NHS estate. www.russellwebster.com/everything-y...

Paying For Justice: How Our Court Fines System Tips The Scales @CJInnovation webinar Mon, Nov 17, 2025 at 2:00 PM Tickets 🔽 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/paying-for...

Prison sentencing reforms will lead to up to 6% rise in crime, police chiefs say Government plans include more short sentences being suspended and earlier releases from jail www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

How well are the courts performing? @cassiarowland.bsky.social from the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk sums up court performance in the second of her series of performance tracker guest posts. www.russellwebster.com/how-well-are...

Appointment of Dame Lynne Owens as independent reviewer Announcing the appointment of Dame Lynne Owens to lead the Independent Review into Releases in Error. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Vapers overtake smokers for first time in Great Britain Some 5.4 million adults use vapes daily or occasionally, compared with 4.9 million using cigarettes, an ONS survey for 2024 suggests, external. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

How "earned progression" could backfire @thehowardleague.bsky.social explains how the Government's earned progression plan could inadvertently result in increasing the numbers of people in prison. www.russellwebster.com/how-earned-p...

Tech challenge launched to counter drone threats in prisons A new MoJ innovation challenge aimed at combatting the growing threat of drones to prisons has been launched through His Majesty's Government Communications Centre Co-Creation. www.gov.uk/government/n...

A Systematic Review of Substance Misuse Treatment in UK prisons by Kim Barnett & colleagues recommends individuals should be more actively involved in shaping their treatment pathways & highlights importance of constructive activities inside & on release onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Mark Gilman provides an unflinching look at what daily life dependent on drugs looks like for many people in the new edition of @ddnmagazine.bsky.social viewer.joomag.com/ddn-november...

New edition of @ddnmagazine.bsky.social has a series of important articles on why we must fight to keep resi rehab as an integral part of an effective treatment system viewer.joomag.com/ddn-november...

Alcohol use amongst people transitioning from military to civilian use needs more understanding from treatment services via @ddnmagazine.bsky.social viewer.joomag.com/ddn-november...

Great to see November's @ddnmagazine.bsky.social leading on the still under-addressed issue of problem gambling (pp6-7) viewer.joomag.com/ddn-november...

Advance your career with a PhD SSA is offering fully-funded PhD studentships and fellowships through the Addiction Healthcare Goals flagship research leadership programme. Applications close at 17:00 GMT on 15 January 2026. www.addiction-ssa.org/news/advance...

Pornography depicting strangulation to become criminal offence in the UK Legal requirement to be placed on tech platforms to prevent users from seeing such ‘choking’ material www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Drug use in prisons "endemic" Justice Committee highlights endemic drug use in prisons and says dangerous culture of acceptance must be broken. www.russellwebster.com/drug-use-in-...

There are 86,888 people in prison today, a significant drop of 525 on last week owing to another batch of early releases.

HMP and YOI Bronzefield inspection report This prison was making mixed progress but "was doing reasonably well in many areas". @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/site...

Embracing the views of people with lived experience of the CJS David Honeywell highlights the need to fully embrace the views and perspectives of those with lived experience of the CJS for HMI Probation www.russellwebster.com/embracing-th...

Police charge 11 after cannabis worth nearly £14m seized at Birmingham airport Officers confiscated more than half a tonne of drug in 22 suitcases from air passengers travelling from Thailand via Paris www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

The pressures on the probation service A range of new official data shows the ever-rising pressure points on the probation service and their impact on people on probation and the wider public www.russellwebster.com/the-pressure...

How well are the police performing? Cassia Rowland from the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk sums up their new Public Services Performance Tracker on policing in the first in a new guest blog series www.russellwebster.com/how-well-are...

Anne Fox CEO of @clinks-charity.bsky.social to stand down after a decade of service Much loved and highly respected Chief Exec moves on clinks.org/community/bl...

Fancy a senior leadership role in the criminal justice sector? Clinks is looking for a new Chief Executive to follow the brilliant Anne Fox www.russellwebster.com/job/clinks-c...

Five more prisoners freed in error after sex offender’s release from Essex jail Union says staff shortages and confusion over early release schemes are driving a rise in mistakes www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Should the Home Office be broken up into two units? The department is once again the subject of debate about whether it is beyond repair after immigration and prison problems via @rowenamason.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Criminal justice trends Autumn 2025 Criminal Justice quarterly stats show another big increase in numbers going through the system, ramping up the pressure further on our court, probation and prison services www.russellwebster.com/criminal-jus...

Probation "weak" and short of 3,150 staff The National Audit Office finds that since reunification, probation performance has declined, with significant staffing shortfalls and high workloads. www.russellwebster.com/probation-we...

Scrap Clause 35 @prisonadvice.bsky.social and more than 20 other charities are calling on the Government to protect families and children by scrapping plans to name and shame people delivering Community Payback schemes. www.prisonadvice.org.uk/get-help/chi...

Beyond the Doors ? What's happening with the Secure School. @robroballen.bsky.social digs into the detail of why our only Secure School remains closed reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2025/10/beyo...

Two new jobs with @CJInnovation on the board: www.russellwebster.com/jobs-2/

Ministry of Justice convicted of a crime in controversial fast-track courts | The Standard share.google/idcX7zExba7C... Couldn't resist this story, I'm afraid

Inspection of HMP Leeds @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social find that critical safety concerns are putting prisoners at risk cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/site...

The hidden cost of prolific offending @revdoors.bsky.social and Newton identify the hidden cost of prolific offending and recommend an effective response. www.russellwebster.com/the-hidden-c...

There are 87,427 people in prison today, just five fewer than last week

What do we know about rapid deployment cells? - MoJ process evaluation gives insight into design, regime & a number of positive outcomes including more prisoner autonomy & better relationships with staff www.russellwebster.com/what-do-we-k...

Youth diversion "fragmented and inconsistent" - Joint inspection by @HMIProbation & @HMICFRS finds current youth diversion work is fragmented and inconsistent. www.russellwebster.com/youth-divers...

Surge in GPS tagging In the last QUARTER (to 30 September 2025), the number of people subject to GPS tagging increased from 12,975 to 14,386, an increase of 11%. www.gov.uk/government/s...

The MoJ has failed to file spending receipts of nearly £11bn. Tussell, the public spending analyst firm, said the department was 2 years behind on publishing receipts for multimillion pound contracts, weakening scrutiny around public money. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Transforming Further Education in the Justice System A transformative vision for the future of Further Education in supporting people leaving prison or on probation from Justice Futures and the UCL Centre for Education and Criminal Justice www.russellwebster.com/transforming...

Homeless prisoner died day after early release from HMP Humber A prisoner died from the effects of drugs the day after he was released from prison with no accommodation to go to finds Prisons Probation Ombudsman www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Persistent shoplifters in Sussex are being fitted with GPS tags GPS use ramping up -one year tags for shoplifters www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

New jobs with @prisonadvice on the board: www.russellwebster.com/jobs-2/

Prison work and training "deeply concerning" @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social finds major cuts threaten to derail already poor work and training in prisons. www.russellwebster.com/prison-work-...

There are 87,432 people in prison today, an increase of 138 on last week.

Majority of family court cases in England and Wales feature domestic abuse Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s review found 87% of cases uncovered physical, psychological or sexual abuse of a family member via @syalrajeev.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

The Economic Cost of Alcohol Harm IPPR report examines the effects of alcohol harm on the UK workforce. www.russellwebster.com/the-economic...