Prison Reform Trust
Encyclopedia
The Prison Reform Trust was founded in 1981 in London
, England
by a small group of prison reform
campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform
was heading, concentrating more on community punishments than on traditional prison reform
issues. Founding members included the late Sir Monty Finniston
and Veronica Linklater
.
PRT offers advice and information to thousands of people every year: prison
ers, their families, prison
and probation
staff, the legal profession, students, academics and interested members of the public. Their quarterly magazine
, Prison Report is, according to PRT, "the most challenging and influential voice on prison issues", although it is not dissimilar in content and tone from the magazine of the Howard League for Penal Reform. PRT organise an annual lecture (delivered by Charles Clarke
MP, Home Secretary, in 2005), and a range of conferences and seminars which attract high profile speakers and large audiences.
The Prison Reform Trust carries out research on all aspects of prison. Recent studies include: prisoners' views on prison education, the mental health needs of women prisoners, older prisoners, prisoner councils, foreign national prisoners, prisoner votes, and a report into how sentencers make the decision to imprison offenders.
Stephen Shaw
was Director of PRT from 1981 to 1999, when he became the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
for England
and Wales
. He was succeeded as Director by Juliet Lyon
.
The late Sir Monty Finniston
was succeeded as Chair by the former Cabinet Minister, Edmund Dell
, broadcaster and journalist, Jon Snow
. Lord Douglas Hurd
, the former Home Secretary
and Foreign Secretary, succeeded Jon Snow as PRT's fourth chair in November 1997. Robert Fellowes
, a crossbench peer
, who has served as Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II
, and holds a senior position at Barclays plc
succeeded Douglas Hurd in September 2001.
They work closely with the campaign group SmartJustice who promote alternatives to custody.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
by a small group of prison reform
Prison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform
Howard League for Penal Reform
The Howard League for Penal Reform is a London-based registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. Founded in 1866 as the Howard Association, a merger with the Penal Reform League in 1921 created the Howard League for...
was heading, concentrating more on community punishments than on traditional prison reform
Prison reform
Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system.-History:Prisons have only been used as the primary punishment for criminal acts in the last couple of centuries...
issues. Founding members included the late Sir Monty Finniston
Monty Finniston
Sir Harold Montague "Monty" Finniston was a British industrialist born in Glasgow, Scotland.Monty Finniston read metallurgical chemistry at Glasgow University, where he gained his PhD and then lectured in metallurgy. He spent the years of the Second World War in the Royal Naval Scientific Service...
and Veronica Linklater
Veronica Linklater
Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater of Butterstone , is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. Her career indicates her interests in children’s welfare, education and special needs, and prison reform...
.
PRT offers advice and information to thousands of people every year: prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
ers, their families, prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
and probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
staff, the legal profession, students, academics and interested members of the public. Their quarterly magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, Prison Report is, according to PRT, "the most challenging and influential voice on prison issues", although it is not dissimilar in content and tone from the magazine of the Howard League for Penal Reform. PRT organise an annual lecture (delivered by Charles Clarke
Charles Clarke
Charles Rodway Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006.-Early life:...
MP, Home Secretary, in 2005), and a range of conferences and seminars which attract high profile speakers and large audiences.
The Prison Reform Trust carries out research on all aspects of prison. Recent studies include: prisoners' views on prison education, the mental health needs of women prisoners, older prisoners, prisoner councils, foreign national prisoners, prisoner votes, and a report into how sentencers make the decision to imprison offenders.
Stephen Shaw
Stephen Shaw
Stephen Shaw may refer to:*Stephen Shaw , prisons and probation ombudsman in the UK*Stephen William Shaw, California pioneer artist-See also:*Steven Shaw *Stephen Shore, American photographer...
was Director of PRT from 1981 to 1999, when he became the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales is an independent body appointed by the Secretary of State for Justice to investigate complaints from prisoners and those subject to probation supervision, or those upon whom reports have been written...
for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. He was succeeded as Director by Juliet Lyon
Juliet Lyon
Juliet Lyon CBE is the director of the Prison Reform Trust.-External links:*...
.
The late Sir Monty Finniston
Monty Finniston
Sir Harold Montague "Monty" Finniston was a British industrialist born in Glasgow, Scotland.Monty Finniston read metallurgical chemistry at Glasgow University, where he gained his PhD and then lectured in metallurgy. He spent the years of the Second World War in the Royal Naval Scientific Service...
was succeeded as Chair by the former Cabinet Minister, Edmund Dell
Edmund Dell
Edmund Emanuel Dell was a British politician and businessman.Dell was born in London, the son of a Jewish manufacturer. In World War II he served in the Rifle Corps and the Royal Artillery, leaving as a first lieutenant...
, broadcaster and journalist, Jon Snow
Jon Snow
Jon Snow is an English journalist and presenter, currently employed by ITN. He is best known for presenting Channel 4 News.He was Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008.-Early life:...
. Lord Douglas Hurd
Douglas Hurd
Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, CH, CBE, PC , is a British Conservative politician and novelist, who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major between 1979 and his retirement in 1995....
, the former Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
and Foreign Secretary, succeeded Jon Snow as PRT's fourth chair in November 1997. Robert Fellowes
Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes
Robert Fellowes, Baron Fellowes, GCB, GCVO, QSO, PC is a former Private Secretary to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 1990–1999, and is also known as a brother-in-law of Diana, Princess of Wales.-Family background:...
, a crossbench peer
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
, who has served as Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, and holds a senior position at Barclays plc
Barclays plc
Barclays PLC is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. As of 2010 it was the world's 10th-largest banking and financial services group and 21st-largest company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
succeeded Douglas Hurd in September 2001.
They work closely with the campaign group SmartJustice who promote alternatives to custody.
See also
- AddactionAddactionAddaction is a British charity founded in 1967 and working with people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. The charity works extensively throughout England and Scotland, with administrative base in Farringdon, central London.- Beginnings :...
- Centre for Crime and Justice StudiesCentre for Crime and Justice StudiesThe Centre for Crime and Justice Studies is a charity based in the United Kingdom focusing on crime and the criminal justice system. It seeks to bring together people involved in criminal justice through various means, including publications, conferences, and courses.The Centre was established in...
- Centre for Mental Health
- Centre for Social JusticeCentre for Social JusticeThe Centre for Social Justice is an independent, not-for-profit thinktank set up by the Rt. Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, to advance the education of the public in the subject of social justice and to promote the role of the voluntary sector...
- Howard League for Penal ReformHoward League for Penal ReformThe Howard League for Penal Reform is a London-based registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. Founded in 1866 as the Howard Association, a merger with the Penal Reform League in 1921 created the Howard League for...
- NacroNacroNacro is a registered criminal justice charity operating in England and Wales. It is not formally linked with Sacro in Scotland or NIACRO in Northern Ireland.-History:...
- Revolving Doors AgencyRevolving Doors AgencyThe Revolving Doors Agency , also known as Revolving Doors, is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom which works across England and Wales...