Government ‘criminalising young’
The government is too quick to criminalise young people for petty offences where informal punishment could be more effective, says a report.
Ex-Youth Justice Board chairman Prof Rod Morgan criticised an “extensive net widening” of the use of summary powers such as cautions and on-the-spot fines.
His report for King’s College, London, urged assessment of the development.
The Ministry of Justice said there was a reluctance to bring young people to court unless necessary.
The report for the college’s Centre for Crime and Justice Studies said: “There is a good deal of anecdotal evidence, for example, that behaviour, particularly that of children and young people, is being criminalised which arguably would be better dealt with informally (school-related misbehaviour, for example) and in previous times was.”
HMP Stocken – look inside
BBC Leicester’s Victoria Hicks has been behind the scenes of Stocken Prison in Rutland. She spent days filming for a series on BBC East Midlands Today. Victoria shares her experiences with you…
What was it like filming inside HMP Stocken?
I found it quite difficult because I never knew what I was going to get. I also had to abide by prison routines and rules i.e. no filming whilst the corridors were full of prisoners in case it sparked a reaction.
No filming of locks and keys for security reasons. No filming of any prisoner unless they had been checked and deemed suitable to appear on television.
I filmed most of it myself. I must have walked miles with my tripod and camera around the prison corridors but it paid off. I gained a fascinating insight into what it’s like to live and work in a prison.
* Watch: A Prisoner’s Story
* Watch: Work Inside Stocken Prison
* Watch: Preparing For Life Outside
* Watch: Prison Fight Against Drugs
Why Prison Radio?
Reducing re-offending benefits us all.
Equipping prisoners with the skills and confidence necessary to find work upon release is crucial in bringing down re-offending rates.
Prison radio aims to make best use of the opportunity prison provides to stop people offending for good in order to build a safer society for all.
Prison radio provides a unique and innovative way to engage prisoners in education, particularly those hard to reach offenders disenfranchised from the education system.