Weblinks to act as supplements to your studies and provide a greater breadth of information.

Click on the following links, which will open in a new window.

HM Prison Service: 

Other learning resources

Erwin James is a former prisoner, now a journalist and author, writing about prison policy and reform. While he was still in prison he had a fortnightly column in The Guardian newspaper.  You can access his work at: www.theguardian.com/profile/erwinjames or http://erwinjames.co.uk

The Howard League for Penal Reform campaigns for the reformation of the prison system, including questioning why people are imprisoned. Their website is: www.howardleague.org.  They also have a presence on Twitter @TheHowardLeague

Inside Time is the national newspaper for prisoners.  It is published every month in paper format, and includes pieces from prisoners, legal practitioners and academics about issues that are concerning prisoners and politicians at the moment.  It is a great source to find out what everyday life is like in prison.  It is also available online: www.insidetime.org

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is the government department that manages prison, probation and the courts in England and Wales. Their main site is: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice. The MoJ carries out research, which is always useful for writing essays and revising.  Follow this link and use the drop down boxes to find research and analysis for more information: www.justice.gov.uk/publications/index.htm. It is here that you can find the weekly prison population figures.

The National Offender Management Service helps run prison and probation in England and Wales.  Information about their work can be found here: www.justice.gov.uk/about/noms, with links to the HMP Prison Service and the National Probation Service websites.

Alex Cavendish is a former prisoner.  He regularly writes a blog at: http://prisonuk.blogspot.co.uk, which picks up on prison news stories of the day, and comments on them, giving examples from his own experiences of being inside.

The Prison Reform Trust campaigns for changes to the way in which people are incarcerated.  They produce the Bromley Briefings papers, which highlight some significant areas of change or concern in the prison system:  

Prison photography is a blog that contains pictures of imprisonment from around the world.  It is important to take in ideas about the impact of imprisonment in a different way from the usual reports and data.  This site helps you visualise the ways in which prison might affect prisoners and their family and friends:  

For historic information about the criminal justice system visit the National archive website: 

The Guardian newspaper has developed an online project to explore the nature of the prison system in the United States.  Their 6x9 app allows you to ‘experience’ solitary confinement in a US prison, plus the associated website has interviews with former prisoners and a documentary about mass incarceration in the US: 

The Clink is a charity that helps prisoners work in catering.  There are four prison restaurants around England and Wales serving high-quality food:  

Timpson shoe repair company supports prisoners and former prisoners through training and employment: