Accounts Overdue: What's Happening with the Secure School? My personal Substack

Whatever happened to the Secure School? robroballen.substack.com/p/accounts-o...

Accounts Overdue: What's Happening with the Secure School? My personal Substack

Whatever happened to the Secure School? robroballen.substack.com/p/accounts-o...

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨

Are courts welcoming? Are defendants judged based on appearance? Can court users understand legal jargon?

Courtwatcher Rosemin & Jessica Jacobson of Birkbeck discuss courtwatcher observations from 2,000+ cases in London magistrates' courts.

🎧 pod.fo/e/3ecb82

Fire Hazard. Why has the government scrapped its target for making prison buildings safe ? So the government has ditched its pledge to ensure fire safety standards are met in all the prisons in England and Wales by the end of next year, a deadline agreed with the Crown Premises fire Safety ...

open.substack.com/pub/robrobal...

Are the Courts Ready for the Sentencing Act? With the prison population almost 1,200 higher than it was when the Sentencing Act became law in January, its easy to see why the government want its key provisions to come into force quickly.

substack.com/@roballen620...

Fire Hazard. Why has the government scrapped its target for making prison buildings safe ? So the government has ditched its pledge to ensure fire safety standards are met in all the prisons in England and Wales by the end of next year, a deadline agreed with the Crown Premises fire Safety ...

open.substack.com/pub/robrobal...

Are the Courts Ready for the Sentencing Act? With the prison population almost 1,200 higher than it was when the Sentencing Act became law in January, its easy to see why the government want its key provisions to come into force quickly.

substack.com/@roballen620...

Are the Courts ready to implement the Sentencing Act? reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2026/03/are-...

What Will Court Reform Mean for the Prison Population?
@robroballen.bsky.social casts his expert eyes over the assumptions & predictions
reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2026/03/what...

Will the new court structure grow or shrink prison numbers? reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2026/03/what...

Youth Justice - A Missed Opportunity?
@robroballen.bsky.social casts his usual forensic eye over new youth justice policy
reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2026/02/yout...

Youth justice would be better in the Education Department than Ministry of Justice. Some thoughts on a missed opportunity for fundamental change. reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2026/02/yout...

It was a pleasure recording with @paulkohlersw19.bsky.social & Lucy Jaffe for our latest podcast episode: Restorative justice - bringing the humanity back to justice.

In this episode, we unpack RJ - what it is, how it works and why it can be so hard to access. Listen now! 🎧🔗 pod.fo/e/3895fe

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨

What if justice put people first? Restorative justice centres victims, reduces reoffending & creates real accountability. So why is it so hard to access? @paulkohlersw19.bsky.social & Lucy Jaffe discuss RJ & efforts to expand its use.

🎧Listen now: pod.fo/e/3895fe

🎙️New Transform Justice Podcast episode out tomorrow!

In the meantime, have you listened to our most recent episode? @penelopegibbs.bsky.social and @robroballen.bsky.social look back through 2025: the reforms, debates and missed opportunities that shaped the year. 🎧 Listen now: pod.fo/e/374dde

We're heading into uncharted territory when it comes to prison population levels. In the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast, we discuss what exactly could be causing this rise in numbers, and what the possible solutions could be.

🎧Listen to the latest episode now: pod.fo/e/374dde

New article from me on whether Gauke’s Sentencing Review did enough to solve the prison capacity crisis. Some important reflections in the other contributions to the special edition of the British Journal of Community Justice

mmuperu.co.uk/bjcj/volume-...

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨

Start the year strong with a big-picture view of criminal justice policy. @penelopegibbs.bsky.social & @robroballen.bsky.social reflect on the reforms and debates that shaped 2025 & look ahead to 2026.

🎧Listen now for the latest developments in prisons, courts & more: pod.fo/e/374dde

Prison Problems Old and New
@robroballen.bsky.social with examples of persistent problems in our prison system, whether they were built in the 1800s or 2020
reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2026/01/pris...

⚠️Can rehabilitation be delivered in prisons - and where are we going wrong?

Andi Brierley joins us to discuss how we can ensure people leaving prison have the opportunity to move away from offending.

🎧Catch up on the latest episode of the Transform Justice Podcast now! pod.fo/e/3648a8

Dartmoor debacle and problems at the newest jail. Challenges for the prison service mount up. reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2026/01/pris...

67 today. Gather it’s banned so staying 66 for a while.

‘Exceptionally high’ number of cell fires in dangerously unsafe prison, inspector finds. reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2025/12/fire...

The Jury’s out on prison numbers. Thoughts on whether the proposed court reforms will lead to fewer people behind bars or more.

reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2025/12/cour...

Local monitoring board at Brinsford Prison worried by 56 in-cell fires over the reporting year, "which seems very high and potentially dangerous for the whole prison".
One of many concerns in a troubling report.
cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/site...

Local monitoring board at Brinsford Prison worried by 56 in-cell fires over the reporting year, "which seems very high and potentially dangerous for the whole prison".
One of many concerns in a troubling report.
cloud-platform-e218f50a4812967ba1215eaecede923f.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/site...

The Jury’s out on prison numbers. Thoughts on whether the proposed court reforms will lead to fewer people behind bars or more.

reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2025/12/cour...

How will court reform impact on prison numbers?
reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2025/12/cour...

How will court reform impact on prison numbers?
reformingprisons.blogspot.com/2025/12/cour...

David Lammy wants to end the court backlog by restricting the usage of jury trials.
Listen to our podcast episode from March where Alex Chalk KC and Dominic Thomas debate this issue, discussing the introduction of intermediate courts and other solutions to reduce the backlog.
🎧➡️ pod.fo/e/2b5a06