Recognising excellence in the criminal justice system Admire someone's commitment and skills? Then why not nominate them for a Butler Trust award? www.russellwebster.com/recognising-...

There are 85,920 people in prison today, a fall of 72 on two weeks ago (there were no figures published last Monday because it was a Bank Holiday). www.russellwebster.com/prison-popul...

Integrating tobacco harm reduction into drug treatment and harm reduction services ideas for drug treatment and harm reduction services keen to help people reduce smoking and tobacco-related from GSTHR gsthr.org/resources/br...

HMP Long Lartin inspection Good progress but concerns over high levels of violence via @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

HMP & YOI Stoke Heath inspection Drugs, self-harm & regime concerns although good healthcare via @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

Too many children face short-term remand Thematic review by @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social finds too many children face short-term remand www.russellwebster.com/too-many-chi...

Changes to #IPP licences on Monday 1 June People can apply for licence termination review two years after FIRST release from prison Full details from @ungripp.bsky.social www.ungripp.com/_files/ugd/f...

Re-structuring youth justice The fourth post in my short series summarising the Government's White Paper for reforming youth justice, focuses on proposed structural change. www.russellwebster.com/re-structuri...

Reforming our criminal records system Penelope Gibbs guest blogs on reforming our criminal record system for childhood offences. #Fairchecks via @transformjustice.bsky.social & @unlockcharity.bsky.social www.russellwebster.com/reforming-ou...

Right response, right time The third in my short series summarising the Government's White Paper for reforming youth justice, focuses on a review of every stage in the system. www.russellwebster.com/right-respon...

Intervening early, changing trajectories Second in a short series summarising the Government's White Paper for reforming youth justice, focusing on early intervention and diversion. www.russellwebster.com/intervening-...

More than 100 young care leavers in England died in past year, data shows Labour has launched an urgent review into the deaths, which one expert describes as ‘unspeakably tragic’ One of the grimmest headlines you'l read www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Human Learning Systems and Probation Services Toby Lowe, Kevin Wong & Chris Fox highlight the benefits of Human Learning Systems as an alternative paradigm for public management and its applicability to the delivery of probation for @hmiprobation.bsky.social www.russellwebster.com/human-learni...

All talk, no action? The persistent problem of racism in criminal justice @crimeandjustice.bsky.social event: In-person in London and online via Zoom 3 June 2026, 18:00 - 19:00 www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/all-talk-no-...

Reforming youth justice The first in a short series summarising the Government's White Paper for reforming youth justice focuses on the case for change www.russellwebster.com/reforming-yo...

Self-inflicted deaths in reception prisons The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman's office guest blogs on a new learning lessons bulletin on self-inflicted deaths in reception prisons www.russellwebster.com/self-inflict...

Crime increasingly a ‘serious barrier’ to UK growth, say business leaders British Chambers of Commerce survey shows firms ‘are dealing with rising levels of theft, fraud and cyber-attacks’ www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

David Lammy promises 25% cut in number of children jailed while they await trial Justice secretary’s white paper will overhaul youth justice rules and could end lifelong criminal records for under-18s www.theguardian.com/law/2026/may...

HMP Aylesbury inspection "The prison was stable and most prisoners felt safe and encouraged to behave well." Concerns about self-harm and drug use Via @HMIPrisonsnews hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

HMP & YOI Downview inspection "Overall, Downview was a safe, decent, well-run prison", although concerns about weekend lock-up Via @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

What do sex offenders think of the Healthy Sex Programme? MoJ qualitative research explores participant views of this follow-up programme. www.russellwebster.com/what-do-sex-...

What do sex offenders think of the Healthy Sex Programme? MoJ qualitative research explores participant views of this follow-up programme. www.russellwebster.com/what-do-sex-...

Ever wondered how judges and magistrates calculate guilty plea reductions in custody cases? New tools from @SentencingCCL sentencingcouncil.org.uk/latest/new-t...

Education, social care and youth offending Cross department research present new insights into education and social care background of children who get into trouble. www.russellwebster.com/education-so...

Improving the Category A review process Peer research from @PRTuk into the Cat A review process reveals an opaque, inconsistent & difficult to navigate system. www.russellwebster.com/improving-th...

My profile of the MoJ ministerial team, updated with the appointment of Catherine Atkinson to replace Alex Davies-Jones who resigned yesterday in order to urge the Prime Minister to stand down. www.russellwebster.com/the-new-just...

Neurodivergence and domestic abuse interventions @nikitarenee37.bsky.social provides practical guidance for those working with neurodivergent perpetrators of domestic violence, based on her research evidence. www.russellwebster.com/neurodiverge...

There are 85,911 people in prison today, an increase of 207 on two weeks ago (there were no figures published last Monday because it was a Bank Holiday).

Need to know the facts on prison? @prtuk.bsky.social has just launched a new online briefing designed to make it easier than ever to understand prisons and the people held in them. 👏👏👏 prisonreformtrust.org.uk/prison-the-f...

HMP Wayland inspection Generally an "encouraging" inspection with lots of positive progress. Concerns remained about use of PAVA and access to drugs via @hmiprisonsnews.bsky.social hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

‘Trauma trackers’ to monitor toll of job on police officers in England and Wales Ministers to mandate use of tools that record individuals’ cumulative exposure to harrowing incidents www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Prevent not equipped to tackle new forms of extremism Home Affairs Committee says that a failure to move on from a counter-terror mindset has left the country ill-prepared to deal with new forms of extremism. www.russellwebster.com/prevent-not-...

Attempts to stop prison drone drug deliveries hampered by crumbling Victorian walls Plans to install tougher netting and window grilles set back because walls cannot take extra weight, prison governors say www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

What do we know about restricted patients? - Restricted patients are a hidden population within our justice and mental health systems but there were 7,998 people detained in secure hospitals on 31 December 2025. www.russellwebster.com/what-do-we-k...

Evaluation of Scottish rehab "Residents with higher problem severity, worse physical & mental health and greater socioeconomic disadvantage less likely to respond to rehab with trust, respect or motivation compared with the other residents." onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Scanned, tackled, arrested: how live facial recognition was piloted on the streets of Croydon Police got several matches during trial in London borough – but where some see progress on crime, others see violation of privacy www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

HMP Leedsinspection Some progress but prison overcrowded, drugs prevalent, and men were not getting enough time out of cells. There had been three self-inflicted deaths since the inspection in July 2025. via @HMIPrisonsnews hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_repo...

Jeremy Bamber banned from communicating with media from prison Bamber, 65, has long used press interviews to campaign against convictions for murder of five family members www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

The latest Criminal Justice Statistics show the ever-increasing pressures on the justice system. 1.59 million individuals formally dealt with by CJS last year - up 3% and the busiest year since 2017 www.russellwebster.com/latest-crimi...

When exploited children exploit others Amy Loughery, Chris Devany & Laura Bainbridge explore the concept of "alpha victims" and share a toolkit for when exploited children exploit others. www.russellwebster.com/when-exploit...

The number of prisoners released early to manage prison overcrowding is staggering In the latest 12-month period (January to December 2025), there were 43,886 SDS40 releases, with 11,177 of those coming in the latest quarter (October to December 2025) assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69f1d9...

Safety in custody stats out today Deaths (including self-inflicted) ⬇️ Rate of self harm ⬇️ (but still 837 incidents per 1,000 prisoners) Prisoner on prisoner assaults ⬆️ Assaults on staff ⬇️ www.gov.uk/government/s...

Touch deprivation in Prison Lauren Hayman shares her research on touch deprivation in prison which provides a harrowing account of the impact of incarceration when humans lose out on some of their most elemental needs. www.russellwebster.com/touch-depriv...

“We cannot prosecute our way out of addiction, homelessness and trauma” @revdoors.bsky.social responds to Starmer pledge to toughen punishment for shoplifting revolving-doors.org.uk/we-cannot-pr...

First recorded teenage suicide linked to domestic abuse Police chiefs blamed violent pornography and “toxic” influencers for being behind a rise in teen abuse. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Looking for justice work in County Durham? New job on the board: Women’s Support Mentor with @wisegrouporg.bsky.social www.russellwebster.com/job/the-wise...

The use of electronic monitoring continues to rise, here's a snapshot of yesterday's stats

Substitute medication proven to reduce the risk of death on prison release Linked datasets prove that OST does reduce the risk of death on prison release. www.russellwebster.com/substitute-m...

Black children almost eight times more likely to be strip-searched than white peers Demographic also overrepresented when police officers use force such as handcuffs, firearms or Tasers, says @childrenscomm.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Joint enterprise convictions have soared since 1980s @crimeandjustice.bsky.social argues ‘job lot’ prosecution approach is unjust and primarily targets young black men www.theguardian.com/law/2026/apr...