Monthly Archives: April 2009
Grass Roots of Change: Edlington tragedy highlights the need for improvements and reflections. Again.
If we can learn something from the case of the 10 and 11 year old brothers who this week stood trial for torturing two young boys in Edlington, Doncaster, it’s that criminal behaviour must be tackled far earlier than in a … Continue reading
Filed under Crime and Justice, Justice
Good Morning Brixton: Prison Radio Station Nominated for Sony Awards
Amidst the disappointment of funding cuts to various well-established arts programmes within the prison system, here’s something positive: Electric radio, a prison radio station based at HMP Brixton, has been nominated for four Sony Radio Academy awards. These include a nomination in the … Continue reading
The Truth About Lie Detectors, Or Not…
If it’s good enough for Jeremy Kyle, then it’s good enough for the Met and the Ministry. At least that’s what Jack Straw must have been thinking when he approved plans for sex offenders to take lie detectors as part … Continue reading
Filed under Crime and Justice, Justice
The Strong Arm of the Law: Heavy policing at the G20 protests
At the same time as the heavy handed policing at the G20 protests is being questioned, Amnesty have released a report into the brutality of policing in France. Heavy policing reflects the climate of fear we find ourselves in. The … Continue reading
Filed under Crime and Justice, Freedom, Human Rights, Photography
The Sound of Music: Music was torture in Guantanamo, says Binyam Mohamed
Binyam Mohammed said there was something worse in Guantanamo Bay than daily beatings and having his genitals slashed with razor blades. The torture methods he was talking about weren’t violent, but, he said, were far more disturbing and soul-destroying. He … Continue reading
Filed under Human Rights, Justice
Insider Art: The Koestler Trust has its funding cut after 30 years
I’ve just found out that the The Koestler Trust, the UK’s best-known prison arts charity, has had its funding cut for 2009. Nowhere has reported this. (Well, not that I’ve seen). Why? The cuts come after more than 30 years … Continue reading
Filed under Art, Crime and Justice
Restorative Justice bites back: the IRA Brighton bomber and the Woolf within
Last year I went to a talk on Restorative Justice at the Soho theatre. I’ve been thinking about it again as I’ve just found out two little areas of Norfolk, where I go often, are now ‘increasingly using Restorative Justice … Continue reading
Filed under Crime and Justice, Documentary, Justice
