For those of us who have had the luxury of not coming into direct contact with the criminal justice system, the idea that prison is largely rehabilitative carries a lot of weight. Buying into the binary tale of good versus evil, we can believe that criminal behaviour is Britain punished justly and proportionately, with life-changing lessons learned as a result of the considered support that prison life offer offenders. But it’s not always that straightforward. In fact, it rarely is – especially when it comes to the most marginalised groups such as women, foreign nationals, trafficked persons and BME offenders. And if you happen to belong to all of the above groups, the likelihood of having “gained” anything beyond an increased chance of reoffending is low. Which is why I hope the news that Wales has the highest imprisonment rate in western Europe, according to the first separate analysis of rates of imprisonment in England and Wales, sparks … [Read more...] about Opinion: We should be very worried Wales locks up the most people in western Europe
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Wales imprisonment rates highest in Western Europe
Wales has the highest imprisonment rates in Western Europe according to new research by Cardiff University. England and Wales are known to have the highest rates in Western Europe but this study is the first to analyse the two separately. It found that a higher proportion of Wales' population was serving time in prison than in England. In 2017, there were 154 Welsh prisoners per 100,000 of the Welsh population. In England the rate is lower with 141 prisoners per 100,000 of the population. The number of prison sentences handed out in Wales between 2010 and 2017 rose by 0.3% whilst in England, during the same period, they fell by 16%. However, custodial sentences in England are longer at an average of 17.4 months compared to 13.4 months in Wales. The report also showed levels of racial disproportionality are also higher in Welsh prisons with white prisoners receiving the lowest average sentence length and black prisoners receiving the longest. Dr Robert Jones from the Wales … [Read more...] about Wales imprisonment rates highest in Western Europe
Wales has highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe
News / UK by Press Association 16/01/2019, 3:07 am FacebookTwitterWhatsAppEmail Send us a story Sign up to our Daily newsletter Wales has more of its citizens in jail than any other country in Western Europe, according to new research. Sentencing figures show there were 154 prisoners for every 100,000 people in Wales, a higher proportion than England – which has the second-highest imprisonment rate with 141 prisoners per 100,000 of its population. The statistics represent the first time prison figures in both countries have been analysed separately. They show more people are being jailed in Wales despite having a lower crime rate than its neighbour every year between 2013 and 2017. A report by Cardiff University researchers shows the total number of prison sentences handed out in England fell by 16 per cent between 2010 and 2017, while in Wales the number increased by 0.3 per cent. Dr Robert Jones, from the university’s Wales Governance … [Read more...] about Wales has highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe
Wales has highest incarceration rate in western Europe – study
Wales has the highest rate of imprisonment in western Europe, the first study of its kind has revealed. Sentencing and Immediate Custody in Wales: A Factfile found that in 2017 (the latest figures available) there were 154 prisoners per 100,000 of the population of Wales, compared with 141 per 100,000 of England. Campaigners and academics expressed concern following the findings. Plaid Cymru said they showed the penal system was failing and that they added weight to the argument that criminal justice in Wales should be devolved to Cardiff. It is widely accepted that England and Wales jointly have the highest imprisonment rate in western Europe but this is the first time the figures for each country, which share a legal system, have been analysed separately. The research was carried out by Dr Robert Jones at Cardiff University’s Wales governance centre. He said the figures were worrying but any suggestion that judges and magistrates in Wales were inherently harsher than those in … [Read more...] about Wales has highest incarceration rate in western Europe – study
Overall democracy declines in Western Europe, but Malta holds steady – Democracy Index 2018
Europe has seen a larger decline in democracy than any other region in the world, according to the Democracy Index report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). In spite of this, Europe still held the top spots in the index with Norway, Iceland and Sweden taking first, second, and third places respectively. The split in Europe came between the East and the West – whilst Western Europe saw a large amount of countries considered by the report to be “full democracies”, Eastern Europe did not feature once in that category with the region, instead filling into the “flawed democracy” category. A rise of identity politics, meaning politicians using group identities such as race or gender as a mode of pushing their policies, and of “strongman” leaders are said to pose a strong risk that the institutions of representative democracy will be weakened further. Alternatively, a strengthening of political institutions, and a tackling of the … [Read more...] about Overall democracy declines in Western Europe, but Malta holds steady – Democracy Index 2018