The late Gordon Burn’s prophetic writing predicted our obsession with celebrity and the media.
- Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of Salford
The serial killer Ian Brady has died at the age of 79.
Companies that care about the bottom line will have their attention divided between profit and patients.
Two sociologists recommend their favourite thriller for your summer reading.
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley continue to fascinate the public, half a century after they were sentenced to life in prison.
Suicide on the railways costs lives – and prevention is about much more than erecting more fencing.
People with mental health issues and learning disabilities should all have someone to make sure the police don’t take advantage of them during interviews.
Suicide, bullying and drugs continue to plague the penal system despite promises of change.
An important study that examines the social costs of the 2008 banking crisis and the economic recession it created has just been published. The analysis, carried out by Carlos Nordt and colleagues at the…
The huge increase in suicides in prison, along with violence and instances of poor care, demonstrate the sorry state of modern prisons today. The latest 2013-14 annual report from the chief inspector of…
Too many children are not being cared for adequately after being found mentally disturbed in a public place, the Howard League for Penal Reform reports. Instead of being taken to “a place of safety” as…
A very significant moment in the history of the UK criminal justice system passed when the government forced through the first stage of its privatisation of probation services. Since then there has been…
The recent publication of a serious case review into the suicide of Frances Andrade reveals how difficult it is for a sexual assault victim to stand and testify against an accuser in court. Keir Starmer…
Chris Grayling’s latest reform to the justice system has gone viral as news emerged he had banned prisoners from receiving books sent from outside. A blog piece penned by Frances Cook, of the Howard League…
While The Shock of the Fall, Nathan Filer’s recent Costa book winner, portrayed a system in which mental health staff spend too much time talking to other professionals rather than to patients, a report…
Nick Clegg has launched the Department of Health’s latest action plan for mental health services, Closing the Gap: priorities for essential change in mental health. While the report was overshadowed by…
It is no secret that mental health services are in a sorry state. Last year saw lots of stories about the increased pressures being placed on treating people in the community and on beds in mental health…
In front of British courts last year were 148,000 people who had 15 or more previous convictions, according to government figures. These reports deserve closer scrutiny. The justice minister, Chris Grayling…
1,200 killed by mental patients – shock ten-year toll exposes care crisis The Sun used this apparently shocking statistic this week to blame the criminal justice system for the death of Christina Edkins…
Since the Thatcher years, successive governments from both political parties have been committed to reforming and reducing the public sector. Alongside, there have been numerous reforms to introduce “private…
The subject of mental health and illness often raises philosophical and ethical issues and fundamental questions revolve around the definition of mental illness – how are health and illness defined, who…
Fifty years ago today, more than 250,000 people marched on Washington, 75% of them black. They heard Martin Luther King Jnr, give a speech that echoed around the world and echoes to us down through history…
Claims that doctors are sectioning mental health patients in order to get them access to beds on psychiatric wards amount to “more than anecdotal evidence”, according to a committee of MPs who have just…
Despite public campaigns to combat stigma around mental illness, people with mental health problems still face ongoing discrimination. And while some sections of the media focus on mental illness in cases…
As long ago as 1780, John Howard noted that prisons were housing more “idiots and lunatics” and emphasised the detrimental effects that this had on the prison regime for both sets of prisoners. But while…
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