NCJ Number
133645
Date Published
1991
Length
44 pages
Annotation
The National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders has issued a White Paper in response to the Woolf Report; a report commissioned by the government of the United Kingdom to investigate the causes of the April 1990 prison riots in that country.
Abstract
The government has accepted the central premise of the Woolf Report: that the prison riots were symptomatic of serious and long-standing difficulties in the prison system and that fundamental changes are required to effect justice, fairness, and humanity for inmates of British prisons. As a result, the government accepted the 12 central recommendations of the Woolf Report including the need for closer cooperation between different parts of the criminal justice system, more visible leadership of the prison service, increased delegation of responsibility to governors of establishments, and an enhanced role for prison officials. The report also called for a "contract" for each prisoner setting out individual expectations and responsibilities, a national system of accredited prison standards, standards for prison capacity, a timetable to provide access to sanitation for all inmates, and better prospects for inmates to maintain their links to family and community. Finally, the report urged a division of prison establishments into smaller and more manageable units, a separate statement of purpose and conditions for remand prisoners, and improved standards of justice within prisons. This White Paper sets forth an immediate practical response to the commission report as well as a long-term strategy. 1 appendix