Meeting needs? The Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service: Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General / National Audit Office,
PDF - http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/07-08/0708310.pdf
HC 310 2007-2008
Executive Summary
PDF - http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/07-08/0708310es.pdf
"Many of the long standing problems in providing offenders with effective and useful learning and skills training have yet to be overcome following the establishment of the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS). Offenders who find employment upon their release are less likely to reoffend, which is why improving their training and skills could contribute to a reduction in crime levels..."

America's Drug War Hits Women / Alternet.org, 13 February 2008
http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/76717/
Silja J.A. Talvi
"Punitive drug laws and tough enforcement leads to an explosion of female incarcerations."
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Under Locke and key / Guardian, 29 January 2008
http://digbig.com/4whct
Alan Smith
"Teaching philosophy in prison is much the same as at university. Only calmer, and more illuminating."

Report on an unannounced short follow-up inspection of HMYOI Glen Parva: 25-27 June 2007 /HMI Prisons, 20 November 2007
PDF - http://digbig.com/4wahn

An Unlikely path to hope behind bars / Observer, 28 October 2007
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2200580,00.html
Mary Riddell
"A pioneering scheme at Huntercombe juvenile prison in Oxfordshire offers tangible proof of the worth of re-educating young offenders"

Inside a maximum-security juvenile training school: Institutional attempts to redefine the American Dream and `normalize' incarcerated youth
Punishment & Society, Vol. 9, No. 3, 235-251 (2007)
http://pun.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/3/235
Michelle Inderbitzin
"The focus of this article is on attempts within a juvenile correctional facility to 'normalise' adolescent inmates and to deflate or redirect their goals and aspirations."
[Sub required]

Prison officer training and practice in Nigeria: Contention, contradiction and re-imagining reform strategies
Punishment & Society, Vol. 9, No. 3, 253-269 (2007)
http://pun.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/3/253
Andrew M. Jefferson
[Sub required]

The Effectiveness of Art Therapy in Reducing Depression in Prison Populations
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Vol. 51, No. 4, 444-460 (2007)
http://ijo.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/51/4/444?rss=1
David Gussak
[Sub required]

[Jersey] Inmates learn skills and crafts / BBC News [Jersey], 16 August 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/jersey/6949872.stm
"Jersey's prison governor wants to employ craftsmen to teach practical skills to the inmates at La Moye. Steven Guy Gibbens is looking for painters and decorators and people with certain trades to pass on their experience and knowledge."

Good days and bad days / Guardian, 24 July 2007
http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,,2133041,00.html
Peter Kingston
"Pays an exclusive visit to Rampton's new education unit for men who may never be freed."

Criminals are to be helped to find work / Worcester News, 2 July 2007
http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/display.var.1512023.0.0.php?utag=32924
"CONVICTED criminals in Worcestershire are to be given help and training to help them find jobs. The West Midlands has been chosen as a pilot region for the new initiative, which will take place in prisons and the community."

[USA] Reading disability in adjudicated youth: Prevalence rates, current models, traditional and innovative treatments
Aggression and Violent Behavior, Volume 12, Issue 3, May-June 2007, Pages 376-392
http://digbig.com/4swsd
John Shelley-Tremblay, Natalie O'Brien and Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling
"This paper reviews current literature from two distinct but overlapping domains: juvenile delinquency (JD) and reading disability (RD). We conclude by previewing some promising new research employing computer-based training and highlight recommendations for future research on RD in the JD population."
[Sub required]

Prison mental health inreach services
The British Journal of Psychiatry (2007) 190: 373-374
http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/190/5/373
Julie Steel and Graham Thornicroft ; Luke Birmingham ; Charlie Brooker ; Alice Mills ;
Mari Harty ; Jenny Shaw
"Prison mental health inreach teams have been established nationwide in England and Wales over the past 3 years to identify and treat mental disorders among prisoners. This paper summarises the policy content and what has been achieved thus far, and poses challenges that these teams face if they are to become a clear and effective component in the overall system of forensic mental healthcare."
[Sub required]

How to stay sane in jail, one page at a time / Times, 24 March 2007
http://digbig.com/4scax
Peter J. M. Wayne
"Our writer has spent half a lifetime behind bars. Here he tells how books have transformed his life."

[USA] Dogs and cats placed with inmates in Maine prison / Seacoastonline.com, 21 March 2007
http://digbig.com/4sbay
"Timothy Duncan house-trained Archie, a shepherd mix, and taught him how to sit. But Duncan isn't a suburban dog owner who might be spotted taking his pet for a walk around the block.
Instead, Duncan is an inmate at the Maine Correctional Center, and Archie is a participant in the Paws in Stripes program that places puppies and kittens with inmates for rehabilitation. Six months after being launched in Maine, the program is getting high marks."

Offenders Learning and Skills Unit : NEWSLETTER 1 / DfES ; Home Office, February 2007
PDF - http://digbig.com/4rxdj

Breaking into university / Guardian, 6 March 2007
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2027114,00.html
John Crace
"Offenders going straight need more than access courses to help them succeed on campus."

Prison inmates perform in musical / BBC News, 2 March 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6411485.stm
"Inmates at a south London prison are appearing in a new production of hit musical Les Miserables. Wandsworth Prison inmates have spent weeks rehearsing for the nine-date show, developing confidence and new skills in the process."

Many inmates 'have very low IQs' / BBC, 15 Feb 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6364809.stm
"Almost 6,000 people with IQs below 70 are estimated to be in UK prisons at any one time - many of them with learning disabilities, a report says."


HMP Liverpool, Styal and Hindley Study Report / University of Liverpoool, 22 Jan 2007
PDF - http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/temp/StudyspReport2.pdf
Dr P G Mottram

Spelling out a better future / Guardian, 23 January 2007
http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,,1996204,00.html
Jessica Shepherd
"Dyslexia is thought to affect more than half of those in prison. Special tutoring can turn their lives around."