A serving prisoner argues that the British public are losing trust in a failing justice system – from police and the courts, to prisons and probation

There is an unwritten agreement between the citizen and the state: obey the law, respect the rules of society, and in return the institutions created to protect you will act with fairness, integrity and accountability.

That agreement depends on one thing above all else: trust. But how can the public continue to trust a system when it appears to fail from every direction?

When politicians are accused of abusing public money through excessive expenses and poor accountability, when police officers entrusted with protecting the public are convicted of serious offences, when institutions designed to uphold justice are themselves placed under scrutiny, people naturally begin to ask a difficult question: who is protecting us from the failures of those who are supposed to protect us?

This is not an attack on the thousands of police officers, judges, lawyers, civil servants and public workers who carry out their duties honestly and professionally every day. It is an examination of something more serious: the institutional failures that have weakened public confidence and created a growing belief that accountability applies differently depending on who you are.

A justice system cannot survive on authority alone. It survives because people believe it is legitimate. And that belief is under pressure.

When police break the law

The police service has historically been one of Britain’s most respected institutions.

The role of a police officer carries enormous responsibility. Officers are given powers most citizens do not have: the ability to detain, search, use force and restrict liberty. Those powers depend on public confidence that they will be exercised responsibly.

Recent years have exposed serious failures in vetting, supervision and organisational culture.

The conviction of a Metropolitan Police officer for the rape and murder of Sarah Everard in 2021, and the conviction of another Met officer in 2023 for a series of rapes, caused widespread shock. These cases raised questions that went beyond the crimes themselves: how were warning signs missed? Why were concerns not acted upon? How did individuals capable of such serious offending remain within the organisation?

The 2023 Casey Review into the Metropolitan Police highlighted deep cultural problems, including failures relating to misconduct, discrimination and accountability. The damage caused by such failures is not limited to the reputation of one organisation. It affects every interaction between police and public.

If victims fear they will not be believed, if communities believe complaints will not be taken seriously, or if people question whether those wearing the uniform can always be trusted, the entire system becomes weaker. 

Courts and sentencing

Judicial independence is one of the foundations of democracy. Judges must be free to make decisions based on evidence and law, not political pressure or public opinion. But independence does not mean that public concerns should be ignored.

Many victims of serious crime experience a painful gap between the justice they expect and the outcome they see. This is particularly true in cases involving violence, sexual offences and crimes against children.

The public expects that those who commit the most serious offences will receive sentences that reflect the harm caused and the risk they present. When offenders convicted of serious crimes receive sentences that appear inconsistent with public expectations, confidence is damaged.

Every case must be judged individually. Courts must consider evidence, sentencing guidelines and the circumstances of both the offence and offender. But the public must also be able to understand how justice is being delivered.

A system that appears disconnected from the experiences of victims risks losing the trust it needs to operate.

A wider crisis

The problem extends beyond police and courts. Across public life, people increasingly question whether those in positions of authority face the same standards expected of ordinary citizens.

When taxpayers see public money wasted or officials criticised for questionable expenses, it reinforces a damaging perception: that there is one set of rules for those with power and another for everyone else. That perception is corrosive.

Institutions depend on moral authority. They cannot demand respect while appearing unwilling to examine their own failures. Accountability cannot only apply to the powerless. It must apply equally to everyone.

Preventing future victims

A justice system must protect victims. Behind every crime is a person whose life may have been permanently changed. For survivors of violence or abuse, the process of reporting, investigation and court proceedings can be deeply traumatic. When victims believe the punishment does not reflect the seriousness of what happened, it can feel like another injustice.

At the same time, a fair justice system must uphold due process. The rights of defendants matter because fairness is a principle that protects everyone. The challenge is creating a system where fairness does not become confused with weakness, and where rehabilitation does not become an excuse for avoiding accountability.

Serious harm requires serious consequences. But justice must also look beyond punishment. A prison sentence should provide opportunities for education, rehabilitation and change, because reducing future offending protects society.

The strongest justice system is not simply the harshest one. It is the one that prevents future victims.

A moment for reckoning

Britain’s justice system is not beyond repair. The majority of people working within it remain committed professionals who want to serve the public. But institutions only survive when they are willing to confront uncomfortable truths.

The answer is not another report that disappears into government archives. What is required is honesty. The public needs to know that those who hold power are accountable. That failures are investigated. That victims are heard. That trust is earned, not demanded.

Because the question facing Britain today is not simply whether the justice system exists. It is whether people still believe in it. And without trust, even the strongest institutions begin to fall.

Drug dealer 'earning £500k' from prison cell

 A drug dealer was making "between £400,000 and £500,000 every two months" before he was found dead in his cell at a Lancashire jail, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has said.

Johnpaul Digweed, who was sentenced in June 2022 to 25 years for supplying drugs, was transferred to HMP Garth, near Leyland in Lancashire, the following month.

The 36-year-old "was involved in organising drone deliveries of drugs and other illicit items" into the prison, a report said.

There was "significant evidence that he was involved in prison drug culture", was "wanted" by organised crime gangs outside the prison and was worried about debts, it said.

'Slashed with blade'

"On six occasions he was found with a mobile phone in his possession," the report said.

In September 2023 Digweed tested positive for cocaine and during this time he "harmed himself by making superficial cuts to his chest".

He was offered support, which he declined, the report said.

On 27 September, staff removed Digweed's prison laptop after they noticed he had damaged the screen.

He was without a laptop for six months which "impacted on his ability to control aspects of his daily prison life and might have negatively impacted his mental health and ability to maintain family ties".

His telephone calls from this period also indicated that his relationship with his partner was "under strain," the ombudsman said.

On 1 November, CCTV showed four prisoners enter Digweed's cell and he was later found to have "injuries consistent with him being slashed with a blade".

He claimed he had fallen but Digweed's security file "indicated that the incident was thought to be drug debt and gang related", the ombudsman said.

Digweed was last seen alive during a routine count of prisoners on the evening of 12 April 2024.

His observation panel was covered during the early morning routine roll check the following day and was still covered at a welfare check at 09:07 BST.

Relationship 'under strain'

The staff responsible for checking him took no action, the ombudsman said.

At about 11:30 an officer unlocked Digweed's cell but did not look inside.

Shortly afterwards, he was found hanged.

The day after his death, officers received intelligence from prisoners that Digweed was "wanted" by organised crime gangs outside the prison and was worried about debts, it said.

On a mobile phone found in his cell, Digweed and his partner had exchanged a number of text messages arguing about their relationship, where Digweed said he was "sick of" things and said that he "could not be bothered any more".

In his summary, ombudsman Adrian Usher said he did not find any evidence that Digweed was at heightened or imminent risk of suicide when he died, but "information received after he died suggested his sentence was putting his relationship under strain and he might have been worried about money".

He said he was "concerned" there was a widespread issue at Garth with prisoners blocking their observation panels and that staff did not always follow local guidance when completing routine checks and welfare checks.

He acknowledged the prison "has taken some steps to address this".

Prisons losing battle on drugs', inquest hears

 A coroner has said prisons are fighting a losing battle with drugs after a prisoner died in jail.

Wayne Miller, from Sunderland, was discovered in his cell after it is believed he swallowed drugs that were given to him by a visitor at HMP Frankland in Durham, in December 2024.

A jury at Durham Coroners' Court in Crook found that the 36-year-old's death was drug-related.

Assistant coroner Simon Connolly, who issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Report urging a more consistent approach to the visitors' policy, said: "The picture painted is one of prisons fighting a losing battle."

"I know they're constantly trying to review, reconsider, revise and devise new ways to prevent drugs getting into prison - but they still do," he said.

Miller was serving a life sentence at the category A prison for the murder of Andrew Mather in Sunderland in 2020.

The inquest heard him described as a loveable rogue, who got on well with prisoners and staff in Frankland.

Drug misuse

The three-day inquest found the cause of death was due to the effects of a combination of the illegal drugs metonitazene and spice.

It heard he had a history of substance misuse which continued when he was in prison.

He was also known to be in debt to other prisoners over drugs and used spice three to four times a week, as well as cocaine and cannabis.

Pathologist Dr Louise Mulcahy said that synthetic opioid metanitozene, which has side effects including respiratory depression, was far more potent than fentanyl, a drug prescribed for severe cancer pain.

The inquest heard during a visit nine days previously, prison staff had had suspicions that visitors had passed something to Miller, which he then swallowed.

However, subsequent body scans were unable to identify anything.

One of the visitors was arrested and an investigation was carried out, but no further action was taken.

The assistant coroner said he would issue a Prevention of Future Deaths Report urging prison staff to take a more consistent approach to applying the visitor policy if there were suspicions that illicit items were being passed on.

Prison Governor Jason Curley told the inquest that organised crime gangs had strategies to get drugs into prisons, including by using drones.

He said that HMP Frankland had had multimillion-pound security upgrades to try and tackle the problem.

He said: "Some of the prisoners are very, very clever.

"If they decided to go a straight path, they'd be captains of industry, CEOs of major businesses.

"The amount of money they're making on drugs, mobile phones, drone ingress, they're not just going to walk away from this."

Lisa Forgione court assessment

 
The following is a write up of  Lisa Forgione court assessment

Allegation (as amended at the hearing):

As a registered Practitioner Psychologist ([PYL039401) your fitness to practise is impaired by reason of misconduct. In that:

1. At an unknown time between October 2019 and 12 July 2021, you breached professional boundaries with Service User A in that you entered into an emotional and/or romantic relationship with him while he was assigned to you at HMP Isle of Wight.

2. On 6 September 2021, you provided a response to security questions from the Ministry of Justice in which you stated you had never been in a relationship with Service User A or given him the impression that you would want a relationship with him, when this was not the case.

3. On 6 September 2021, you provided a response to security questions from the Ministry of Justice in which you stated that Service User A had disclosed the presence of a relationship between yourself and him for reasons as set out in Schedule A, when this was not the case.

4. Between 25 December 2021 and 15 February 2022, you breached professional boundaries and/or did not act in the best interests of Service User A by carrying out the course of conduct set out in Schedule B.

5. On 16 May 2022, you breached professional boundaries and/or did not act in the best interests of Service User A during the purple visit by carrying out the course of conduct set out in Schedule C.

6. On 20 May 2022, you wrote a letter to the HCPC in which you stated that you were not in a sexual, financial or emotional relationship with Service User A when this was not the case.

7. On 24 July 2022, you breached professional boundaries and/or did not act in the best interests of Service User A by sending him a birthday card detailed in Schedule D.

8. Your conduct in relation to allegations 1, 4, 5 and/or 7 was sexual in nature.

9. Your conduct in relation to allegations 2, 3 and/or 6 was dishonest.

10. The matters set out in allegations 1 to 9 above constitute misconduct

11. By reason of your misconduct your fitness to practise is impaired.

Schedule A

You said, “My guess is that this may be linked to his personality difficulties, which make it difficult for him to regulate his emotions and deal with perceived rejection and abandonment. This combined with his own sense of victimisation and high levels of vengeful thinking may have led him to behave in this way in an attempt to harm me and cause me distress for leaving him/my job and letting him down.”

Schedule B

25/12/2021: Telephone contact between registrant and Service User A via the ward payphone
04/01/2022: Four-hour call between Service User A and registrant
08/01/2022: Call from registrant to Service User A
09/01/2022: Call between Service User A and registrant
16/01/2022: Four-hour call between Service User A and registrant
23/01/2022: Call between Service User A and registrant finishing at 04:00 on
24/01/2022
29/01/2022: Several hour-long call between Service User A and registrant
01/02/2022: Several hour-long call between Service User A and registrant
02/02/2022: Several hour-long call between Service User A and registrant
03/02/2022: Moonpig Valentine’s Day card received by Service User A from the registrant
04/02/2022: SKYPE session between Service User A and registrant. Registrant observed to share photographs of herself in a bikini and topless with her arms across her breasts during the call
06/02/2022 SKYPE: call between registrant and Service User A followed immediately by phone call between Service User A and registrant
07/02/2022 SKYPE: call between registrant and Service User A
08/02/2022 SKYPE: call between registrant and Service User A including the registrant showing Service User A photos of other men and asking him to rate them
10/02/2022 SKYPE call between registrant and Service User A
12/02/2022 Mobile telephone call between Service User A and registrant
12/02/2022 SKYPE call between registrant and Service User A
14/02/2022 SKYPE call between registrant and Service User A
15/02/2022 SKYPE call between registrant and Service User A

Schedule C

I. You told Service User A, “You make me happy. I will miss your face. I’m seeing you in less that two weeks I’m really excited. I’m with you to the end” or words to that effect.

ii. After Service User A asked you what side of the bed was his, you demonstrated the side of the bed to him.

iii. You agreed to send photographs of yourself to Service User A.

iv. When Service User A spoke about your ‘peach’, you stood up and showed him your clothed buttocks.

Schedule D

i. Cover of the card has photographs of you in a bikini and topless (with an arm across your breasts).

ii. The card contains the following message:

Words are not enough to express my feelings for you. You make my life worth living. You bring smiles to my face even in my worst days and you always show me how much you love me and care for me. Even the darkest thoughts fade away when you smile at me. And when you look me in the eyes my world shines as bright as you. You are my best friend and my lover. I feel like the luckiest woman on Earth because I have the most wonderful man by my side. Thank you for being my rock.

I hope your birthday is as beautiful and full of love as you are. You deserve only the best, and I only wish that for you. May life bring you everything you are dreaming about.

Happy birthday bumbo mio…
This is the first of many birthdays together.
I’m sure we’ll make it special together and we’ll remember it forever for this reason.

Più di ieri, meno di domani
Always and forever
Lisa xxx

Prison nurse struck off over smuggling drugs into jail

 

A prison nurse who was jailed over a drug smuggling operation has been struck off.

A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) hearing was told Keira Burton had been convicted for her role in smuggling cannabis, spice, ketamine, phones and SIM cards into HMP Preston and jailed for 20 months in March 2025.

The fitness to practise panel concluded Burton's actions represented a significant departure from the standards expected of a registered nurse and were fundamentally incompatible with her remaining on the register.

She said she "fully accepted" that she had "lost a career that I loved and worked extremely hard for, for many years".

Burton, who became a registered nurse in 2013, was arrested in December 2023, when she was found in a van outside the prison with drugs, cash and a pair of shoes that had hollowed-out spaces in them.

The panel noted that she had placed inmate patients who could have used the drugs at risk of harm.

It found that Burton acted "so as to put patients at unwarranted risk of harm".

The report cited sentencing comments from the judge in Burton's case, noting he had told her: "You have, in fact, rehabilitated yourself, but I keep coming back to your position in prison and the part that you played in this conspiracy and the onward supply was often done whilst you, Miss Burton, were engaged in your clinical duties.

"Your role in prison was to help vulnerable people, not to furnish them with poison that would accelerate their decline."

The panel determined Burton's criminal behaviour brought the nursing profession into disrepute.

It also found she had undermined the high standards expected of registered nurses and breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession, which included acting in the best interests of people at all times, preserving safety and keeping to the laws of the country in which she was practising.

The panel took into account Burton had signed an "agreed removal admissions form" in September, in which she indicated her admission to the regulatory concerns against her.

'Lost a career'

It also considered Burton's written statement in support of her application for agreed removal from the NMC register.

It said: 'I take full responsibility for my actions in this crime and fully understand that my behaviour and poor choices, whether through coercion or not, gave the NMC no option but to suspend my registration.

"In over a decade within the NHS I have never had a single complaint or issue raised about my practice prior to this, something which my professional and character references provided in January 2024 confirm.

She added: "I deeply regret my actions and that I have tarnished an otherwise perfect career and have associated the NMC with my actions, but I have also accepted that I will never again work within healthcare."

Burton, who said she had a new career outside of nursing, has 28 days to appeal against the decision.

A Message to My Viewers

 A Message to My Viewers

With my parole hearing coming up in November, I have a very busy schedule ahead. There may be times when I am unable to post anything, so please bear with me.

I am fully committed to working with the professionals supporting me, preparing for my release, and continuing these important discussions in my own voice.

Once again, a thousand thanks to everyone who continues to view and support the blog. Your patience and encouragement mean a great deal.

Yours sincerely,
The VoiceForCons Team

Prison worker who shared inmate information jailed

 A prison staff member who shared information about an inmate with a friend has been jailed for 21 months.

Courtney Harrison, an administrative staff member at HMP Moorland, near Doncaster, shared details about prisoner George Tunney in 2023, which later ended up being shared to Tunney's phone

Harrison, 27, of Edlington, was jailed at Sheffield Crown Court after admitting misconduct in a public office and unauthorised access to computer material.

She had also searched for the files of high-profile murderers Lucy Letby, Harold Shipman and Rose West, which Recorder of Sheffield Judge Jeremy Richardson described as "completely improper".

But the "really serious aspect" of her offending was related to the Tunney searches, he said.

Harrison's friend and former colleague had "some sort of connection" to the inmate, the judge said, and had asked her to share confidential information about him over email.

"[Harrison] is not a woman with great confidence and could not reject the somewhat predatory request of this woman," he added.

She had seen the friend as a "sister" and had a "desperation to maintain a friendship" with her, the court heard.

Tunney absconded soon after receiving the information for a number of weeks and was later found in the south of England, the court heard, although there was "no direct evidence" that the information had helped him to do so.

Judge Richardson said Harrison was "very young", having been aged 23 at the time of offending, and was "immature and lonely".

But he said an "example had to be made" when prison officials breached the "considerable responsibility and trust" placed in them.

"It is a very sad day when somebody like you needs to be sent to prison, but good people on occasions commit wrongs, and the wrongs you committed were criminal and they were serious," he told Harrison.

'Stupid' prison officer searched cons' computer records and phoned one under fake name

 

HMP Berwyn prison officer Cally White was investigated after information came to light suggesting she was "forming inappropriate relationships"

A "naïve" prison officer illegally accessed computer records on behalf of two Merseyside drug dealers and repeatedly spoke to one of them on the phone under a false name. Cally White, 26, checked North Wales prison HMP Berwyn's database over 100 times in respect of prisoner Ryan Hamid and his associate David Blackburn.

Mold Crown Court heard White was employed as a prison officer at HMP Berwyn in May 2023. But in November the following year information came to light suggesting White had been "forming inappropriate relationships" with prisoners.

One of the prisoners was Hamid, of Kirkby, with the contact continuing following his release. Hamid was later recalled to prison, but sent to HMP Altcourse in Fazakerley, where he remained in contact with White, who was listed as an approved phone contact under the alias "Sophie Wright".

The court heard during their calls, which were recorded, the pair discussed work, shift patterns and other prisoners and staff at Berwyn. One of the prisoners discussed was Hamid's friend Blackburn, also from Kirkby, and it was implied in the calls she had checked the systems to provide an update on his status.

Merseyside Police officer's secret life holidaying and partying with criminals

Mum said 'I believed they were the last moments of my life' after thug attacked her

The Daily Mail reported in total White accessed Hamid's prison record around 60 times including his personal details, offence details, release dates and case notes.

She also accessed Blackburn's records 44 times, including a record after he and his cellmate were found with a number of illicit items including an iPhone.

It was reported the prosecution accepted White had pleaded on the basis she was not in a romantic relationship with Hamid, nor that cash paid into her bank account was from Blackburn or had been facilitated by Hamid. She pleaded guilty to unauthorised access of the computer system.

White's counsel said: "She knows how stupid she has been. She is not just sorry but deeply ashamed." It was heard the Masters degree-educated woman had a stable relationship, a new job and was returning to university to continue further studies.

The presiding judge, Recorder John Philpotts, told her: "Corruption undermines the whole fabric of the work prisons do and other people must be deterred from behaving in the way you did."

White, of Bagillt, Flintshire, was told her "behaviour shows an enormous level of naivety" as she was sentenced to a nine months in prison, suspended for a year. She was also ordered to complete 10 days of rehabilitation, 200 hours of community service and pay £1,000 towards prosecution costs.

The ECHO previously reported how Hamid, nicknamed "Badger" because of a white streak in his hair, led a gang that supplied drugs in North Wales.

The group was said to have "made thousands of pounds out of the misery of others" and spent the profits of the illicit venture on spa days, holidays and trips to Chester Races.

"Badger" orchestrated the sale of heroin and crack cocaine, recruiting other members of the gang from Liverpool and North Wales to deal on his behalf. The gang was caught when officers raided a house in Bagillt and caught Hamid and his lieutenants resupplying the operation.

The leader was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison in October 2020, with the presiding judge describing the operation as "relentless, arrogant and determined to exploit vulnerable clients for greed".

Blackburn was jailed as part of the investigation into the encrypted EncroChat messaging platform. Identified as the user of the "super.biking" phone handle, he was said to have worked with fellow Kirkby man David Pinnington, who went by "loftyhail", and others to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis across the Merseyside area. He was jailed for 11 years in December 2021.

Officer at HMP Berwyn sentenced for illegally accessing prisoner database

 *A “naïve” prison officer at HMP Berwyn has been handed a nine-month suspended sentence after she admitted accessing sensitive information on a prison computer on behalf of a prisoner.

Mold Crown Court heard how the 26-year-old woman was employed as an officer in May 2023. In November the following year, information came to light suggesting she had been “forming inappropriate relationships”. The court heard that during calls with one man, who had left Berwyn and was being held at another prison, they discussed staff shift patterns and other prisoners at Berwyn. 

The officer spoke to the prisoner on the telephone under a false name. She checked the prison database more than 100 times in respect of the prisoner and an associate of his, when she had no valid reason to do so.

The prosecution accepted that the woman had pleaded on the basis she was not in a romantic relationship with the prisoner, nor that cash paid into her bank account had come from either the prisoner or his associate. She pleaded guilty to unauthorised access of the computer system.

The woman’s counsel said: “She knows how stupid she has been. She is not just sorry but deeply ashamed.” It was heard the Master’s degree-educated woman had a stable relationship, a new job and was returning to university to continue further studies.

The presiding judge, Recorder John Philpotts, told her: “Corruption undermines the whole fabric of the work prisons do and other people must be deterred from behaving in the way you did.” In addition to her suspended sentence she was ordered to complete 10 days of rehabilitation, do 200 hours of community service, and pay £1,000 towards prosecution costs.

Early Release, Prison Reform, and the Victims the Justice System Is Failing

 Trigger warning: This post discusses sexual assault, childhood abuse, violence, grooming, drugs, and other potentially distressing subjects. Please feel free to read a different post if these topics may upset or harm you.

While I understand the anger surrounding the early-release scheme, part of me believes that the public does not fully understand what is happening inside the prison system.

Before I continue, I want to make something clear: I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I was abused from the age of three until I was seventeen. It was a daily occurrence that continued throughout almost my entire childhood.

Because of my experiences, this is an extremely difficult and personal subject for me to discuss.

I am currently serving an indeterminate life sentence, so the early-release scheme will not affect me personally. What I am about to say may upset or anger some people, but I ask that you bear with me and try to understand the point I am making.

A Victim Is Still a Victim

A crime is a crime, regardless of the offence.

There has been discussion in the news about Debbie Adlam, the mother of a police officer who was killed, and her attempt to prevent her son’s killers from being released early. I completely understand why a grieving mother would fight against the early release of the people responsible for her son’s death.

She also raised concerns about sex offenders.

I do not like sex offenders, paedophiles, groomers, or anyone who abuses children. Because of what happened to me, I have deeply personal reasons for feeling that way.

However, we also need to ask some difficult questions.

What is the difference, from the victim’s point of view, between being sexually assaulted and being stabbed, beaten, threatened with a gun, or seriously injured during a robbery? What about the people who give drugs to children and force them to sell those drugs? What about human traffickers who exploit children or smuggle people into dangerous situations where they may die?

The offences may be different, and the risks posed by individual offenders must be assessed properly. But the people harmed by those crimes are all victims.

If someone assaulted your wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, child, parent, grandparent, brother, or sister, how would you feel? If someone broke into your home and injured somebody you loved, would you consider that crime unimportant simply because it was not a sexual offence?

Of course not.

That is my point. Victims of every kind of crime deserve to be taken seriously.

The Early-Release Scheme Is a Farce

The government says certain prisoners will not qualify for early release. Sex offenders, terrorists, and life-sentence prisoners are among those excluded.

However, everyone who enters prison goes through the same basic process: arrest, court, conviction, sentencing, and imprisonment. Every prisoner is also a human being.

That does not mean every offence is equally serious or that every prisoner should receive the same sentence. It means that the justice system should be fair, consistent, and focused on protecting the public.

If rehabilitation is necessary, it should be available to everyone. If somebody poses a genuine danger, that risk should be managed properly. Decisions should be based on evidence, behaviour, risk, and public safety—not simply on political pressure or the need to create emergency prison spaces.

The real question is this: why has the government allowed the prison system to reach a point where emergency early release is considered necessary?

Who Created the Prison-Capacity Crisis?

Over roughly the last fifteen years, numerous prisons have been closed, while only a small number of replacements have been built.

So whose fault is it that the country is running out of prison spaces?

The answer seems clear to me: successive governments have allowed this crisis to develop.

The public is then given slogans and selective information designed to make emergency policies sound reasonable. Meanwhile, the deeper problems remain untouched.

I have been in prison for approximately thirty-five years. From what I have witnessed, prisons have become human warehouses and money-making operations.

There is very little meaningful rehabilitation. Resettlement support is inadequate, and many people receive nowhere near enough help when preparing for release.

Thousands of prisoners are reportedly being held beyond their minimum tariff dates. This contributes to overcrowding, but the reasons why people remain imprisoned are rarely explained properly to the public.

At the same time, large numbers of released prisoners are eventually recalled to custody.

Where is the effective resettlement?

Where is the rehabilitation?

Where is the consistent support from probation services?

Releasing people without stable housing, treatment, employment opportunities, mental-health support, or proper supervision does not protect the public. It simply creates a cycle in which people leave prison, struggle, breach their licence conditions or reoffend, and are then returned to an already overcrowded system.

Prisoners Must Also Make Choices

The prison system has a responsibility to provide genuine opportunities for change. However, prisoners also have personal responsibility.

There are some realities that must be acknowledged:

1. Meaningful rehabilitation is extremely limited in many prisons.
2. Completing courses does not automatically prevent somebody from reoffending. A person must make a genuine decision to change their behaviour.
3. Prisoners who choose to become drug-free may give themselves a better chance of rebuilding their lives after release.
4. Those who return to drugs, alcohol, violence, and criminal behaviour are more likely to return to prison.

People need support, but they must also choose to use that support.

The problem is that prisons are full of drugs. Drug-related debt contributes to bullying, intimidation, corruption, and serious violence. Without tackling addiction and the supply of drugs inside prisons, claims about rehabilitation will continue to sound hollow.

Where Is the Rehabilitation?

If the government is going to reform the justice system, it needs to do it properly.

Do not simply announce that certain categories of prisoners will not be released and pretend that the problem has been solved.

Provide effective rehabilitation for every prisoner who needs it.

Help people address addiction.

Provide proper education, psychological treatment, skills, housing support, employment preparation, and release planning.

Assess each prisoner carefully and manage genuine risks.

Most importantly, stop making promises to victims and the wider public while continuing to operate a system that repeatedly fails both.

Prison Labour and Private Profit

Many parts of the prison system have been privatised or outsourced. Depending on the prison, this may include education, healthcare, canteen services, maintenance, workshops, and other departments.

Over the years, I have been held in many prisons. I have seen prisoners working on contracts connected to large outside companies, including tool-hire and welding-related work.

Prisoners may receive only a very small weekly wage for this labour.

If an ordinary business outside prison employed people for such low wages, serious questions would be asked about exploitation. Yet when it happens inside prison, it is often defended as work experience or rehabilitation.

That raises important questions.

Who benefits financially from prison labour?

Where does the money go?

How much is being reinvested into prisoners’ education, rehabilitation, treatment, and preparation for release?

Work can be an important part of rehabilitation. It can teach responsibility, discipline, teamwork, and useful skills. But it must be meaningful, ethical, and connected to a genuine pathway towards employment after release.

Otherwise, it risks becoming exploitation disguised as rehabilitation.

The Entire System Needs Reform

The justice system needs a massive overhaul. In fact, the political decisions surrounding prisons also need to be examined.

Victims are being failed.

The public is being failed.

Prison staff are being placed under enormous pressure.

Prisoners who genuinely want to change are being failed.

The answer is not simply to release people early because there are no available cells. Nor is the answer to keep people locked away indefinitely without meaningful rehabilitation, treatment, or a realistic route towards progression.

The answer is to build a justice system that protects the public, respects victims, holds offenders accountable, and provides genuine opportunities for change.

Prisons should not be human warehouses.

They should not exist primarily to generate profit.

They should be safe, controlled environments where punishment, rehabilitation, education, treatment, and preparation for release are taken seriously.

Until the public begins asking where the money goes, why rehabilitation is failing, why drugs remain widely available, and why so many people return to prison, nothing will change.

People need to wake up and look at what is happening behind prison walls.

The government and the prison system are not only letting prisoners down.

They are letting victims down.

They are letting the public down.

They are letting you down.