Prisons

The Northern Ireland Prison Service has changed its policy on which books can be taken into jails. A review was ordered by the Director General Ronnie Armour after it emerged that inmates at Maghaberry Prison could not access a book on dissident republicanism.

Prisons are becoming overcrowded again as more people are being jailed by the courts and for longer terms, The Irish Times reports. The average number of prisoners in custody daily rose by eight per cent to 3,911 last year, according to the Irish Prison Service annual report.

The Inspector of Prisons, Patricia Gilheaney, has warned that regular prison inspections are not taking place because of inadequate resources. In half of Ireland's ten closed prisons, no inspections have been conducted in a decade, Ms Gilheaney told Today with Sean O'Rourke, the Irish Examiner repor

More prisoners in England and Wales will have the opportunity to access employment and training following an expansion of the release on temporary license (ROTL) scheme. Offenders in open and women's prisons will now be eligible for paid work as soon as they have passed a "tough" risk assessment.

Northern Ireland's justice system is increasingly being used as a service of last resort for people with mental health issues, according to a new report. The Comptroller and Auditor General, Kieran Donnelly, published his report on Mental Health in the Criminal Justice System to coincide with Mental

The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) has announced a review of access to books within Northern Ireland prisons following a public controversy. Dr Marisa McGlinchey criticised the service after it emerged that prisoners were not allowed copies of her recently-published book, Unfinished Business

Penal reform campaigners have voiced concern over a decline in the number of prisoners being admitted to a successful rehabilitation programme. The number of prisoners taking part in the Community Return Scheme has stayed at around 50 all year, despite being over 100 since 2015, The Irish Times repo

A former law lecturer who is serving ten years' imprisonment in Arbour Hill Prison for sexual offences has successfully argued that there was a want of fair procedures in a disciplinary hearing which resulted in his phone and visitation privileges being denied for 30 days. In deciding to sanction th

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has announced the appointment of Fíona Ní Chinnéide as its new executive director.

The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) has apologised to a solicitor who was asked to remove a lapel badge for Irish language speakers before entering Maghaberry Prison. Jim McGinnis, head of the prison law department at Carlin Solicitors, was asked to remove the badge while going through securi

The Irish prison population grew by nearly two percent between 2016 and 2018 while the overall imprisonment rate in Europe fell by nearly seven per cent, new figures reveal. The Council of Europe's Annual Penal Statistics for 2018 (SPACE), published yesterday, reveals that a downwards trend in Europ

Around 100 people attend the first TEDx event in an Irish prison yesterday evening.

Prison officers are set to receive special training aimed at tackling radicalisation in Irish prisons. A "small" number of officers have already received the training, which is due to be extended further over the next few years, The Times reports.

The first ever TEDx event in an Irish prison is set to take place tomorrow at Mountjoy Prison. The TEDxMountjoyPrison event has been organised by SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority, in partnership with the Irish Prison Service.

A teenager who hit the director of Oberstown Children's Detention Campus on the head with a metal bar and smashed up the centre has been jailed for four years. Michael Ward, 19, pleaded guilty to criminal damage, assault causing harm and assault while attempting to commit theft at Oberstown Children