David Shipley is a former prisoner who writes, speaks and researches on prison and justice issues.
Yesterday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published its annual report on crime in England and Wales. This combines data on crimes reported to the police and the Crime Survey for England and Wales to produce the best estimate of how much crime is being committed. It makes for grim reading. While overall crime is up 10
September’s tranche of early releases did not go as smoothly as the government might have hoped. Footage of delighted prisoners celebrating outside jails, or saying ‘I’m a lifelong Labour voter now’ will, no doubt, resurface in Reform’s local election campaign videos in the spring. Then there was Amari Ward, the man who allegedly sexually assaulted
One of the new government’s first decisions was to announce that most prisoners would be released 40 per cent of the way through their sentence, not half-way through as had been the case before. In July the expectation was that around 5,500 inmates would be released early. In fact 1,700 were released in September, and
High-risk offenders could reportedly be released early from secure government-approved hostels. Shortly before before the election in July, the Ministry of Justice reduced the typical period people spend in an ‘Approved Premises’ from 12 weeks to eight. But what are Approved Premises, and does this matter? ‘Approved Premises’ – or ‘APs’ – are a little-known
‘Purposeful activity’ is a phrase often heard in discussions about our prisons. It describes work, training, therapeutic courses and other meaningful activities which improve prisoners’ mental health and make them less likely to behave antisocially in prison or offend after release. In theory our prisons should make sure that most prisoners are spending a significant
Before I was sentenced to prison I imagined it as a place of discipline, where we who had broken society’s rules would be taught to be better men. I could not have been more wrong. One of the most toxic, and least-understood problems with the British prison system is the moral code it teaches. Terrible,
As hundreds of prisoners are released early on to the streets of Britain, it’s vital that the authorities keep track of these criminals. Worryingly, this doesn’t seem to be happening: several recently released prisoners who have been out of jail for two to six weeks told me they have still not been tagged. It’s anyone’s
With the mass releases from prison underway, politicians have turned their attention to what happens after inmates leave jail. On Tuesday, Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary announced that when necessary budget hotels will be used to ensure that people released early have a roof over their heads. On Wednesday, the Times reported that Sadiq Khan has called for
Today the government is releasing an estimated 1,700 prisoners early, under the scheme (SDS40) in which most inmates will only serve 40 per cent of their sentence. By the end of October, some 5,500 prisoners will have been released early. The idea is to take pressure off the prison system, and buy enough time to
Britain’s prisons are full: over the August Bank Holiday weekend, there were fewer than 100 men’s prison places remaining. The number of spaces has now risen slightly but the crisis remains: our prisons are running out of space. This will have serious consequences – and it isn’t good enough for Keir Starmer to keep blaming
One of the worst things about prison is the rules. Before I was sentenced I’d imagined jail as a rigid, structured, disciplined environment where infractions would be punished without fear or favour. The reality is much, much worse. In our prisons rules are often enforced capriciously or not at all. There’s a two-tier system. A
As I read last week’s Steerpike exclusive on the thorny topic of ‘inappropriate relationships’ between prison officers and prisoners, my mind turned to Wandsworth in 2020, and a particular young woman officer whose behaviour was often far from appropriate. She would start conversations of a sexual nature with prisoners, asking what kind of pornography they
Violent conflict, not traditionally a feature of life in Britain, arrived with brutal force this weekend. Angry mobs targeted mosques and attacked hotels housing migrants, setting at least one on fire. Businesses were looted, and groups of men have been seen gathering in force, holding weapons and attacking others. Although more than 400 arrests have
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has bowed to the inevitable: acknowledging that ‘our prisons are on the point of collapse’, Mahmood has announced that, from September, most prisoners serving sentences of less than four years will be released 40 per cent of the way through their sentences instead of the halfway point, which is currently the
Julian Assange was a changed man when he walked free from Belmarsh prison in south London this week. The Wikileaks founder’s appearance was radically different from when he was arrested outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2019. It was a striking example of what prison can do to a person. The images of Assange
On Saturday night, Labour announced its plans to ‘fix the prison crisis and keep criminals behind bars’. If this announcement is the full extent of Labour’s prison policy, then disaster awaits them in government. At least Labour seems to recognise some of the problems. They point out that as a result of overcrowding our prisons
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On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Max Jeffery interviews Afghan resistance leader Ahmad Massoud (1:13); former prisoner David Shipley ponders the power of restorative justice (8:23); Patrick Kidd argues that the Church should do more to encourage volunteers (14:15); Cindy Yu asks if the tiger mother is an endangered species (21:06); and, Hugh Thomson reviews Mick
When a vast, complex system fails it first does so slowly, and then all at once. I fear that the justice system in England and Wales is about to collapse. The prisons are effectively full. An average of 1,362 more people are imprisoned each week. What will happen when there’s no room for them? Last
In a week when the Chief Inspector of Prisons published an Urgent Notification detailing the horrors of HMP Wandsworth, I found myself revisiting memories of being jailed there for the crime of fraud. Clanging doors, rattling chains, men screaming at night in anguish or despair or because their cellmate was assaulting them. No help coming.
Some prisoners will be freed up to 70 days early to ease overcrowding in jails. This isn’t the first time the government has resorted to letting prisoners go before the end of their sentence: Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, announced in March that prisoners would be released up to 60 days early. This followed a
