United Kingdom
Scotland: “A state of permanent hyperawareness”
Testimonial
Europe
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Facilities
Social ties
Rehabilitation
United Kingdom
John has been incarcerated for nearly twenty years since the age of 16. Now a husband, a father, and a PhD researcher, he shares his story with us — from his time behind bars to how prison still impacts him today. Interview.
Women
Europe
Justice
Health
United Kingdom
Pregnant incarcerated women in England are being handcuffed to prison officers – often male – during intimate vaginal examinations and long, agonising births.
Europe
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Suicide
Overcrowding
Activities
United Kingdom
A Glasgow prison is “breaching core human rights” and its incarcerated people are “unable to shower daily”, according to a new report on Scottish prisons.
Women
Europe
Mental health
Suicide
Rehabilitation
United Kingdom
Fraser Maclean, policy manager at Commonweal Housing, writes about why women face challenges to the greatest extent after leaving prison.
Europe
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Violence
United Kingdom
An unannounced inspection to a prison found it was being targeted by organised crime gangs. It found that drones were being used to get large quantities of drugs and contraband into the prison.
Europe
Facilities
Violence
United Kingdom
Figures released by HM Prison and Probation Service showed that in 2025 there were 2,546 cell fires. A prison-by-prison breakdown showed that Sodexo-run Forest Bank had the most cell fires last year, with 94. It was followed by Woodhill (88), Lowdham Grange (78) and Swaleside (77).
Europe
Discipline
Justice
United Kingdom
Three more prison staff have been arrested or convicted in relation to criminal offences – while new figures from the Ministry of Justice showed that over 1,000 prison or probation staff in England and Wales have faced disciplinary action in the latest 12-month period.
Women
Europe
Health
Material conditions
United Kingdom
Across the world, incarcerated pregnant women are often held in deplorable conditions, leading some to miscarry or give birth alone inside a cell, say campaigners.
Europe
Overcrowding
Rehabilitation
United Kingdom
The number of people leaving prison in the Yorkshire and Humber region with no home to go to has gone up by 69% in the past year, data has revealed.
Europe
Health
Mental health
Drugs
Overcrowding
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Work
United Kingdom
Shared cells in an overcrowded South Yorkshire prison are “often too small to maintain decency and privacy”, inspectors have reported.
Women
Europe
Mental health
Violence
United Kingdom
Women’s prisons are so dangerous they are actually “incapable” of adequate reform according to new research which examines recent deaths in the women’s estate.
Europe
Foreign prisoners
Overcrowding
United Kingdom
Breakdowns in communications, staffing and security issues show how years of neglect have pushed jails to breaking point.
Europe
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
Suicide
United Kingdom
Forest Bank prison in Salford has seen 27 deaths in just five years, raising serious questions about the safety and care of incarcerated people. Paul Britton reports.
Women
Europe
Health
Mental health
Suicide
Violence
United Kingdom
The number of people dying in prisons in Wales and England has reached its highest total for a 12-month period this century, figures show.