Director’s Blog
When society fails to act
8th April 2010
20 years ago this week, the worst prison unrest in recent British history occurred when over 1,000 prisoners took control of Strangeways Prison in Manchester, in protest at chronic overcrowding and cell conditions at the prison.
Testing the strength of our principles
22nd March 2010
Director's Blog: The real challenge of a hard case like that of Thompson and Venables is that it tests whether our principles of respecting children's rights are strong enough to encompass the worst case scenario.
A last resort for young offenders?
3rd March 2010
Guest Blog: "If detention is to be a last resort for children, greater efforts must be made to reduce the use of detention for children at all stages."
Fresh Thinking and Common Sense
9th February 2010
Director's Blog: Instead of a knee-jerk reaction to crimes committed on bail, what we need is a common sense approach that emphasises individual responsibility, the legitimacy and consistency of the system - with the result that you need less imprisonment to achieve less crime.
UK considering Justice Reinvestment
19th January 2010
Director's Blog: We have adopted enough of Britain’s mistakes in crime policy over the last decade – when they recognise those mistakes, shouldn’t we sit up and take notice too?
The Balances of Justice
13th January 2010
Director's Blog: Finding a balance between the need to achieve justice for families of victims, while showing fairness to perpetrators.
Tackling violence in prisons in 2010
4th January 2010
Director's Blog: It has been a violent and difficult Christmas period within our prisons; one key step in tackling this issue must be the setting of safe custody limits in the prisons by the Minister for Justice.
A year of damning reports and real public concern
22nd December 2009
Director's Blog: "As we come to the end of 2009, it is worth reflecting on a year in which prison issues have become more prominent than perhaps at any time in the past twenty years."
4,000 prisoner mark reached for the first time
14th October 2009
DIRECTOR'S BLOG: Last Friday, 9th October, marked another milestone in the Irish prison system, but not one that we should be celebrating.
What is a successful outcome?
29th September 2009
Director's Blog: The recent statement by the Secretary General of the Department of Justice to the effect that he favoured the winding up of the Drug Treatment Court Programme is disappointing, and in my view short-sighted.
