Prisons In Crisis

The prison population in England and Wales has doubled since the mid-1990s. Prisons are experiencing huge problems, with rises in violence and self-harm. Suicides behind bars are at their highest levels in a decade. There were more homicides in prison in 2015 than any other year on record. This is an urgent question for today and it’s no wonder the Prime Minister has recently announced prison reform as a government priority.

Andrew Neilson is a leading authority on prisons and how we should deal with criminal behaviour in our society. He will discuss what’s gone wrong with our prisons and what can be done to create a more effective and humane criminal justice system.
Andrew Neilson is Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform. He has led on a number of campaigns, including Books For Prisoners (which won a Charity Award 2015) and directed a number of inquiries for the charity, on topics including former armed service personnel in the criminal justice system and sex in prison. Prior to joining the Howard League, Andrew worked in government communications.