Crime Solicitors

Justice Secretary David Lidington has set out the essential reforms under way to make prisons places of safety and reform - saying that, as well as depriving offenders of their liberty, prisons must also be places of reform and rehabilitation, to support offenders in turning their lives around.

The Justice Secretary acknowledged that prisons had "been going through a particularly turbulent time".

He said that it was necessary to create calm and ordered environments for the effective rehabilitation of prisoners - including giving offenders the help they needed to quit drugs, as well as the education, training and support to find employment when they leave prison.

"In doing this, prisons don't work in isolation," said the Justice Secretary.

"They work within their local communities and with other services - with Probation, Jobcentres, housing, health and drug services, local businesses and charities to provide innovative schemes and initiatives to prepare prisoners for a life after release.

"We now have more private sector companies employing ex-offenders than ever before - Timpson, Halfords and The Clink Charity are just three examples of organisations which do great work with prisons and offenders.

"Only by building on this work to reform offenders and support ex-offenders will we stop the vicious and costly cycle of re-offending - this is my priority and as the new Secretary of State, I am committed to building on the essential reforms that are already under way to make prisons places of safety and reform."

Mr Lidington said that having more prison staff would give them more time to directly supervise offenders, through one-to-one support from a key worker. He added that this would be a key measure in reducing currently unacceptable levels of assault, self-harm and suicides in Britain's jails.

The government has already pledged a £100 million-a-year investment for an extra 2,500 prison officers - the most recent figures show the number of prison officers in post has increased by 515 compared with the previous quarter and all 2,500 prison officers should be in place by December 2018.

Mr Lidington commented:

"We are also tackling key issues to improve security and create the opportunity for reform and rehabilitation,"

"On drugs, we have introduced testing for psychoactive substances across the estate, the first jurisdiction in the world to do so.

"We have also trained more than 300 dogs to detect these substances - and have introduced tough new laws to deal with people smuggling the substances into prison."

The government is also working with the police to catch and convict criminals using drones to smuggle contraband into prisons, with a new team of prison and police officers to directly tackle the threat posed by drones.

"On mobile phones, we are working with mobile network operators to tackle illicit use of phones - we have now fitted out every single prison across the estate with hand-held mobile phone detectors and detection poles to step up the detection of illegal phones on the landings.

"More than 150 mobile phones have been cut off since the introduction of new powers through the Serious Crime Act"

The government is also continuing to transform prison estate, including closing old and dilapidated prisons and creating up to 10,000 new places through a £1.3 billion investment.

The Justice Secretary commented:

"We know where the problems lie in our prisons - and we know what is needed to fix them,"

"We are continuing with and building on these reforms, to ensure prisons are safe and secure - and are able to transform the lives of those sent to custody by our courts"

Duncan Lewis Crime Lawyers – Prison Law

Duncan Lewis crime lawyers are available 24/7, 365 days a year to advise at any stage of a criminal charge, including serious organised crime, violent crime, sexual offences, terrorism charges, human trafficking and modern slavery charges, robbery, drugs offences, business crime and motoring offences.

There are Duncan Lewis offices across England and Wales – and a Duncan Lewis criminal defence solicitor can attend interviews under caution within an hour.

Our expert criminal law department can also advise on prison law, including legal advice on Prison Service Instructions (PSIs) and Prison Service Orders (PSOs), access to healthcare and mental health services, disciplinary hearings before the Governor, applications to the Parole Board and Licence conditions.

For expert legal advice on criminal charges and Prison Law, call Duncan Lewis crime lawyers on 0333 772 0409.

For 24/7 help at a police station, call the Duncan Lewis Solicitors 24-Hour Emergency Helpline on 0333 772 0607.