Prisons

Republican and loyalist paramilitary prisoners in separated regimes should be offered the same level of education and other constructive activities as those in the general prison population, a new report has said. A three-person review team was appointed to examine constructive activity in separated

New reports revealing systemic and persistent issues at Ireland's two women's prisons - including overcrowding, staffing shortages and increasing fears of homelessness on release - have prompted calls for Government action. The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has called on ministers to accelerate ef

Transgender inmates at a women's prison in London are set to be moved to the UK's first transgender prison unit later this week. The new wing at HMP Downview will accommodate three trans women prisoners, all of whom have Gender Recognition Certificates, BBC News reports.

The Law Society of Ireland has expanded an initiative that sees trainee solicitors teach prisoners about the law. The Street Law Prisons programme is now offered in a number of Irish prisons, including Wheatfield Prison, Mountjoy, the Dóchas Centre and Arbour Hill, as well as The Pathways Cen

Young offenders helped deliver two kid goats at Hydebank Wood College as part of the facility's animal therapy initiative. The Saanen-crossed pygmy kids were delivered by two students who have been learning about animal husbandry as part of their rehabilitation.

A draft bill to expand Ireland's spent convictions regime has passed the second stage in the Seanad with unanimous support. The Criminal Justice (Rehabilitative Periods) Bill 2018, introduced by Independent Senator Lynn Ruane in December, will now move on to the committee stage for detailed and line

The Prison Service in England and Wales is considering plans to house transgender prisoners in separate prison wings, The Sunday Times reports. Justice minister Ed Argar confirmed that new guidelines would be issued after a trans woman who had not undergone gender reassignment surgery was convicted

New research into the experiences of people in Ireland with minor convictions highlights the need for an expanded rehabilitation law, penal reform campaigners have said. The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has published the findings of a new survey it conducted to coincide with the launch of the Cri

Prison authorities cited the GDPR when refusing to tell a solicitor why his client had been placed in a special observation cell, The Irish Times reports. The decision to place the prisoner in the padded cell just before Christmas is currently subject to a judicial review before the High Court.

Rev Dr Lesley Carroll has been named as the new prisoner ombudsman for Northern Ireland. Dr Carroll, a Presbyterian minister who is currently deputy chief commissioner at the Equality Commission and also works at Victim Support NI, will take up office for a three-year term from 1 March 2019.

Irish experts on the impact of parental imprisonment on children have encouraged Irish authorities to follow the example of an English prison which installed a photo booth for prisoners and visitors. HMP Lowdham Grange, a privately-run prison in Nottinghamshire, installed the photo booth last year t

Wales has the highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe, according to research by Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre. Sentencing and Immediate Custody in Wales: A Factfile provides a statistical comparison of sentencing and immediate custody figures in Wales and England.

Penal reform campaigners have welcomed reports that plans for a 2,200-person "super-prison" in north Dublin have been abandoned. Deirdre Malone, executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT), told Irish Legal News that the news "demonstrates positive progress in Irish penal policy over t