Latest editorial
TORY Justice Minister Chris Grayling was sweating in the dock last night after campaigners condemned his “disingenuous” claim that unions were to blame for Britain’s prisons crisis.
Probation officers’ union Napo and penal reform campaigners turned the screws on Mr Grayling after he stuck his head in the sand claiming there was “no crisis” despite soaring violence and desperate staff shortages.
“We’ve got challenges from an increased (prison) population that was not expected in the last 12 months,” Mr Grayling whinged.
IAN LAWRENCE welcomes the government sentencing review but warns past experience shows such words rarely translate into meaningful action
MARK FAIRHURST highlights the main issues facing officers in a long neglected service, and raised by front-line delegates at POA conference last week, including understaffing, violence, bullying and the ongoing denial of workers’ right to strike
Working in a high-risk sector, prison officers’ calls for proper PPE must be heeded – and the POA will be fighting to ensure effective protection at work is delivered, writes MARK FAIRHURST