howard league for penal reform

• oldest penal reform charity in uk, established in 1866
• named after John Howard, one of the older prison reformers
• aims

  • less crime, safer communities
  • fewer people in prison
  • seeks to transform prisons for those behind bars
  • humane and effective response to crime
  • reduce reoffending
• funding

  • donations
  • regular donations - £20, £50 or £100 a month
  • trusts and foundations
  • company sponsorships
  • payroll giving - donate tax free through their pay
  • become a member
• become Howard league member

  • variety of different memberships e.g free, student, lifetime, family, individual
  • pay for most memberships from £2-£600 a month
  • receive updates on campaigns, events, welcome pack, invites to general meeting
• working practises

  • work with parliament, media, members of the public
  • create reports on experiences of prisoners using high quality research
  • advice line - allow legal advice for children
  • campaigns e.g books for prisoners
  • howard league blog - regularly updated to educate
• Howard league blog

  • Informal comment from our Chief Executive, Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), and other contributors.
  • look at many issues surrounding prisons and people in prison
  • e.g Mental Health Awareness Week: Mental Health in Prison- 85 people took their own lives in our prisons.
  • Get people to sign petitions such as getting girls out of Wetherby prison where 15year olds have been forced to strip to search them by a group of male officers.
  • found staff shortages lead to prisoners locked away for 23 hours in shared cells
• 'books for prisoners' campaign

  • enabled prisoners to get books from visitors
  • created due the the ban ministry of justice made in sending books and other essentials to prisoners
  • wanted to encourage reading, education, rehabilitation - found prisoners had low literacy levels
  • 57% of adult prisoners have literacy levels below those expected of an 11-year-old
  • a03 - successful book/essentials ban was lifted as high court declared it unlawful
• PAVA spray on children

  • campaigns to stop use of PAVA spray on children
  • findings from their project showed the spray was not used properly or safely
  • urge public to spread awareness of social media, doing the Howard league, educate themselves on PAVA Spray
  • PAVA is a chemical irritant spray that can cause severe pain.
• relationships with other agencies

  • ministry of justice - campaign lifted ban on books for prisoners, advice politicians
  • prison - research many different prisons e.g moving girls out of Wetherby prison - unsafe as designed for boys