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Three intensive supervision courts for women open in northern England
New courts in West Yorkshire, Merseyside and Northumbria take the total in England to seven, as ministers aim to reduce the number of women in custody.
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HMP Forest Bank released 825 men homeless in a year, official figures show
A prison-by-prison breakdown from the Ministry of Justice shows 14,970 people left prison in England and Wales without a home in the year to March 2026, about one in six of all releases.
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HMP Bedford improves but has highest violence rate of any adult male prison
Inspectors found the category B reception prison had made good progress and now ran a much better regime, but violence, drugs and poor living conditions held it back.
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Cardiff prisoner’s letter to his son published alongside celebrity contributors
A letter written by Daryl, a prisoner at HMP Cardiff, appears in ‘Letters to Our Sons’, a collection edited by Stephen Graham that also features Danny Dyer, Tom Daley and Louis Theroux.
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Eleven probation hostels closed as early releases continue, report says
Staff shortages and problems such as infestations have shut one in ten Approved Premises in England and Wales, according to a newspaper report, as the Chief Inspector of Probation calls for action.
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Muslim former prisoner wins Ramadan medication discrimination case at High Court
The High Court has dismissed an NHS trust’s appeal against a ruling that its rules on handing out codeine at HMP Birmingham indirectly discriminated against a fasting Muslim prisoner.
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Fylde MP calls for open prison arrivals who fail drug tests to be sent back
Andrew Snowden told the Commons that prisoners who fail a drug test on arrival at HMP Kirkham should return to closed conditions. The prisons minister pointed to a review led by Amber Rudd.
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Spending watchdog holds up probation AI note-taking tool as model for government
The National Audit Office says Justice Transcribe, which records and transcribes supervision meetings, saves probation staff time and offers lessons for other public bodies.
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Police forces report re-arrests of prisoners freed early under Sentencing Act
Forces in Greater Manchester and Humberside say some people released early in October 2026 were back in custody within days, while the Metropolitan Police reports a sharp rise in recalls.
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HMP Manchester defends music and lyric-writing course after press criticism
The prison says classes in music, including hip hop and rap, will draw men out of their cells and into the purposeful activity that inspectors have called for.