Irish - We Are Saying Nothing

The OSC

Mentally Unfit To Be Tried In Criminal Court

28 February 2014 Last updated at 02:59

Broadmoor Hospital: Inside a Victorian 'lunatic asylum'

"It is 150 years since Broadmoor Hospital opened its doors to patients of both sexes who were deemed mentally unfit to be tried in criminal courts. Now a new hospital is being built next door, with plans to redevelop some of the original Victorian buildings.

Take a look back at what life in the Berkshire hospital used to be like - and see what the future holds - with archivist Mark Stevens the author of Broadmoor Revealed, and Broadmoor's clinical director Dr Kevin Murray."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26335033

To Be Spent, But, Still To Be Prejudiced Against - Nothing Changes

DBS list of offences that will never be filtered from a criminal record check https://t.co/vKgbeDKUSG
— CrimeLine.info® (@CrimeLineLaw) December 2, 2013

(Embedded Tweet - click date - archived, if needed).

List ... https://t.co/vKgbeDKUSG (.xlsx)

Going to be a minefield ...

http://therealosc.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/ROA%201974

*****

December 2013

Filtering legislation

"What is the new filtering legislation about?

Previously, all convictions, cautions, final warnings and reprimands on the Police National Computer were disclosed on Standard and Enhanced DBS (formerly ‘CRB’) certificates until a person reached 100 years of age.

On the 29th May 2013, an amendment to The Police Act 1997 was implemented that allows certain minor offences to be removed or ‘filtered’ from the certificates. Offences that are eligible to be filtered no longer need to be disclosed for jobs that are eligible for Standard or Enhanced DBS checks.

Please note that the legislation applies to England and Wales only."

http://www.nacro.org.uk/what-we-do/resettlement-advice-service/advice/legislation/filtering-legislation,1648,NAP.html

*****

Page history: Updated 13 December 2013, see all updates

DBS filtering guide Organisation: Disclosure and Barring Service

Information added about external guidance available from Nacro and Unlock. 13 December 2013 10:46am

Added more information about convictions with multiple offences. 13 September 2013 11:01am

Updated to version 1.4 - added a link to Unlock guidance1 2 August 2013 3:37pm

Uploaded new version 1.3 with further advice on filtering. 30 July 2013 2:20pm

Updated version of the document.1 2 June 2013 12:24pm

Updated the document 29 May 2013 8:41am

First published. 28 May 2013 3:34pm

Policy: Helping employers make safer recruiting decisions
Collections: DBS filtering guidance and DBS checking service guidance

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-filtering-guidance

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265811/Filtering_guidance_v3.pdf

Get Your Fingers Out

Published 14 November 2013

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 - Commons Library

"Research publications › Research briefings‎

Standard notes SN01841. Authors: Sally Lipscombe."

"The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 aims to give those with convictions or cautions the chance – in certain circumstances – to wipe the slate clean and start afresh.

Under the Act, eligible convictions or cautions become “spent” after a specified period of time known as the “rehabilitation period”, the length of which varies depending on how the individual concerned was dealt with. Prison sentences of over 30 months are excluded from the scope of the Act and can therefore never become spent. The rehabilitation periods for other types of sentence vary according to whether the person was cautioned or convicted and, if the latter, the type of sentence imposed. Rehabilitation periods will generally be shorter for offenders aged under 18 when they were convicted.

Once the conviction or caution becomes spent, the offender is regarded as rehabilitated and (for most purposes) is treated as if he had never committed the offence.

However, there are a number of exceptions to this general approach. For example, for some types of employment a person can be required to disclose details of both unspent and spent convictions or cautions.

The Government has recently legislated (via section 139 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012) to reform the 1974 Act in two key ways. The first key change is to extend the scope of the Act to cover custodial sentences of up to 48 months, and the second is to change the length of some of the rehabilitation periods (in most cases by reducing them).

The Act received Royal Assent on 1 May 2012 but section 139 has not yet been commenced and so is not yet in force. The Government had initially indicated that section 139 would be commenced in spring 2013; however, in February 2013 the offender rehabilitation charity Unlock said that it had been notified by the Government that section 139 would not now be commenced until November 2013. In answer to a PQ in October 2013, the Government said that it was working through some significant business and technical issues regarding implementation that were required to be resolved before commencement. It said that it aimed to have the reforms in place at the earliest possible point."

http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn01841/the-rehabilitation-of-offenders-act-1974

http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn01841.pdf

The UK Death Sentence - The SOPO

31 Oct 2013 15:27

'Serial voyeur' found dead in his prison cell, sparking murder investigation

"AG, 73, was serving a nine-month sentence after he was found lying on the floor in women's toilets at a shopping centre Lincoln Prison.

A 73-year-old prisoner serving a nine-month sentence for voyeurism has been found dead in his cell, sparking a murder investigation.

AG, a serial peeping tom, was jailed in October after he was found lying on a cubicle floor in the women's toilets of a Leicester shopping centre.

An ambulance was called after staff found him in his cell at Lincoln Prison at around 5.45am this morning, but he was pronounced dead at the scene the Prison Service said.

A 35-year-old male inmate - understood to have been sharing a cell with G - has been arrested in connection with the incident, Lincolnshire Police said, as it opened a murder investigation.

G was jailed after admitting voyeurism and breaching a sexual offences prevention order which was imposed in 2009. It had banned him from loitering near or entering female toilets for five years, according to reports.

While jailing G for nine months, Judge Robert Brown at Leicester Crown Court also extended the order - banning him from ladies' lavatories for the rest of his life."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/serial-voyeur-alan-goode-found-2661211

Prisoner death murder probe

http://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-10-31/murder-probe-launched-after-73-year-old-found-dead-in-prison-cell

HMP Lincoln murder probe as inmate AG found dead

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-24762623

Serious safety failings found at Lincoln jail last year

http://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-10-31/murder-probe-launched-after-73-year-old-found-dead-in-prison-cell

Eh Kirsty, No Problem ... It Happens ... Just Like Rape, Really

9:00am Monday 21st October 2013 

'I'm sorry for my rape lie'

 "Kirsty Debanks, left, with her mum Rhea Debanks Kirsty Debanks, left, with her mum Rhea Debanks

A WOMAN jailed for making a false rape claim says the lie cost her “everyone’s respect”.

Kirsty Debanks said she was in a “bad place” when she made the allegation against her boyfriend and regretted it instantly.

The 21-year-old – who alleged Chris Newitt raped her in her home last July – urged women not to make the mistakes she did.

A council sexual abuse boss last night said false allegations can put off genuine rape victims from going to police [oh, is that all - anything else?].

After the claim, Mr Newitt was arrested, interviewed and held for about six hours."

"Debanks – released in August from an eight months prison sentence – said: “I said it and I wanted to retract it straight away."

http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/10751320._I_m_sorry_for_my_rape_lie_/

*****

PUBLISHED: 11:43, 27 October 2013 | UPDATED: 11:43, 27 October 2013

Young mother jailed for making two false rape claims within hours after getting drunk and sleeping with friend's partner

>Ashleigh Loder, 25, was jailed for 6 months for perverting course of justice.
>Drunk on vodka, she told police two men raped her in an alley way.
>But later accused her friend's partner after tests disproved her story.
>Defence told court: 'Who knows what was going on in her mind'.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2477790/Young-mother-jailed-making-false-rape-claims-hours-getting-drunk-sleeping-friends-partner.html

Because, Jo, It Never Happened

The Phoenix Post @ThePhoenixPost

https://twitter.com/ThePhoenixPost 

Julie Meese @Megajules01

https://twitter.com/Megajules01

*****

More of the jokes, lies and disinformation - here ...

*****

31 Aug 2005 00:00

EXCLUSIVE: PERVERT [offensive and inflammatory] RUNS CHILD ABUSE WEBSITE [sic] FROM HIS JAIL CELL [ :) ]

"A TWISTED teacher [ouch, my back] jailed for downloading 11,000 vile images [sic] of children is masterminding a website for paedophiles [sic] from behind bars [ :) ]."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/exclusive-pervert-runs-child-abuse-555549#.UmEFk_tMzZk.twitter

*****

Stupid is, as stupid does ... 

MAMAAUK @MAMAAUK

https://twitter.com/MAMAAUK

https://twitter.com/ShyKeenan 

*****

More to follow.

The Malleability of Sexual Pleasure - 'Paraphilias'

F1000Prime Rep. 2013; 5: 36.; Published online 2013 September 2. doi: 10.12703/P5-36

Paraphilias: definition, diagnosis and treatment

"PMCID: PMC3769077

Abstract

"There is a great deal of controversy concerning paraphilia, and defining what is normal versus deviant or disordered, given that this is to some degree dependent on cultural views of acceptability. In this article, we outline these issues and describe recent progress in diagnosing and treating paraphilias."

"Conclusion

"Delineating what is normal versus deviant or disordered sexuality is one of the biggest challenges when using the term paraphilia. The definitions under paraphilia within the DSM have been highly debated and highly controversial [22], and, given the lack of change to definitions and diagnostic criteria in the real sense, this would seem set to continue. The malleability of sexual pleasure across time and cultures creates problems for those defining and diagnosing paraphilia and the efficacy of treatment of paraphilias synonymous with sexual offending is inconclusive. The ability to imprison and/or commit an individual based on their future “dangerousness” using a mental disorder or psychiatric criterion as justification [35,36] may potentially violate due process rights [37]. At the heart of the issues still lies the much debated question: “what justifies the classification of a source of sexual pleasure or a type of sexual activity as a mental disorder” ([22] p.195)?"

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3769077

http://f1000.com/prime/reports/m/5/36

*****

Paraphilias across cultures: contexts and controversies (2010)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20358463

Sex, immorality, and mental disorders (2009)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19690325

The paraphilias. The extent and nature of sexually deviant and criminal behavior (1992)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1409028

The Futility And Mind-Numbing Frustration Of Prison - Not Fit For Purpose

‘The futility and mind-numbing frustration of prison’

"REVIEW: I am already on record as saying that there are not enough books about the true British prison experience, and this book is a welcome addition to that small number already in print, writes Noel ‘Razor’ Smith. Jonathan Robinson is an engaging writer with an eye for the characters and absurdities you would meet serving a short prison sentence."

http://thejusticegap.com/News/the-futility-and-mind-numbing-frustration-of-prison

Jonathan Robinson

https://twitter.com/IN_IT_THE_BOOK

Roberto Perrone (02:50:00)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01frryq

Yet It Has By Far The Lowest Reoffending Rate In Europe

Monday 25 February 2013 08.00 GMT

The Norwegian prison where inmates are treated like people

"On Bastoy prison island in Norway, the prisoners, some of whom are murderers and rapists, live in conditions that critics brand 'cushy' and 'luxurious'. Yet it has by far the lowest reoffending rate in Europe An inmate sunbathes on the deck of his bungalow on Bastoy. An inmate sunbathes on the deck of his bungalow on Bastoy.

The first clue that things are done very differently on Bastoy prison island, which lies a couple of miles off the coast in the Oslo fjord, 46 miles south-east of Norway's capital, comes shortly after I board the prison ferry. I'm taken aback slightly when the ferry operative who welcomed me aboard just minutes earlier, and with whom I'm exchanging small talk about the weather, suddenly reveals he is a serving prisoner – doing 14 years for drug smuggling. He notes my surprise, smiles, and takes off a thick glove before offering me his hand. "I'm Petter," he says.

Before he transferred to Bastoy, Petter was in a high-security prison for nearly eight years. "Here, they give us trust and responsibility," he says. "They treat us like grownups." I haven't come here particularly to draw comparisons, but it's impossible not to consider how politicians and the popular media would react to a similar scenario in Britain."

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/feb/25/norwegian-prison-inmates-treated-like-people?view=mobile

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Bastoy: the Norwegian prison that works

"Arne Kvernvik Nilsen, the departing governor of a prison with a reoffending rate of just 16%, shares the secrets of his remarkable success."

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/04/bastoy-norwegian-prison-works

Imprisoned Between Ages 14 To 47, Released On Licence In August 2012

Ben Gunn, the blogging prisoner locked in a strugglePublished on Aug 5, 2013 

Beyond the Four Walls - Short Documentary 

"As the re-offending rates in the UK continue to increase, a team of film-makers set out to see how the current state of the prison system effects the people who work and live in it. Ben Gunn (arrested for murder in 1982) and a large host of contrasting voices including Prison wardens and other ex-criminals provide an interesting perspective on the situation. Beyond the four walls attempts to explore how the stigma attached to prisoners (rightly or wrongly) shapes the lives of those who leave it."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrQ05TeM34U#t=59

BEN'S PRISON BLOG - Lifer On The Loose 

http://prisonerben.blogspot.co.uk

Mokurai Consulting

http://www.mokuraiconsulting.com

Ben Gunn

https://twitter.com/prisonerben

*****

Ben Gunn, the blogging prisoner locked in a struggle

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/oct/07/ben-gunn-blogging-prisoner-aop

Ben Gunn: murder, love and life after prison

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/15/ben-gunn-murder-love-life-after-prison

A More Leisurely Pursuit

Library Image

*****

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Over-50s make up third of inmates at prison for sex offenders

"HMP Bure near Norwich has specially adapted cells, wheelchair pushers and 26 bowls teams, inspectors' report reveals

An English prison that specialises in holding and treating sex offenders has so many prisoners over the age of 50 that it has 26 teams competing in its bowls club, jail inspectors have revealed.

HMP Bure, near Norwich, is one of five specialist jails in England and Wales dedicated by the prison service to cope with the surge in convicted sex offenders.

The number of older prisoners convicted for sex offences has nearly doubled over the past decade, with the jailing of high-profile offenders such as the BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall only the tip of the iceberg of convictions for offences that date back to the 1970s.

The latest official inspection report on Bure prison discloses that 183 of its 500 inmates are over 50, with the oldest aged 84. "The prison had scheduled in monthly mental health awareness training for the coming year, which contained a section on the signs of dementia," said the inspectors who visited in May. "Several activities co-ordinated by the gym were specifically for the over-50s, including a bowls club, which had 26 teams.""

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/04/over-50s-inmates-prison-sex-offenders?CMP=twt_fd

Prisons turning into old peoples’ homes

http://www.insidetime.org/articleview.asp?a=1558&c=prisons_turning_intoold_peoples_homes#.UiePn7eQ9II.twitter

Prison Only Serves To Punish

August 24, 2013 5:26 PM

Federal Judge Refuses Prison Sentence For Convicted Sex Offender

"For a second time, a Detroit federal judge has refused to send a man to prison for possessing thousands of images of child pornography.

A federal appeals court last year had ordered Judge Arthur Tarnow to sentence R again, saying a punishment with no prison didn’t reflect the seriousness of the crime. The images showed bondage and torture.

RR returned to court Thursday and was placed on probation for several more years. Prosecutors had asked for a three-year prison sentence.

WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton noted there are several factors that come into play when a judge determines sentencing."

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/08/24/federal-judge-refuses-prison-sentence-for-convicted-sex-offender/

John Cooper QC And Prof. John Fitzpatrick, On Law - 2008

Battle of Ideas: Too Many Laws? 

Speakers: John Cooper (00:05:34 to 00:18:04), Prof John Fitzpatrick (00:18:10 to 00:28:45).

Chair: Tessa Mayes

"In recent years British society has become increasingly litigious.

Both the government and the public increasingly turn to the law to resolve problems.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has beaten even his predecessor's record, introducing 2,823 new laws during his first year in office. This is the highest record for law-making by anyone at Number 10, and 40% higher than the annual average created by Margaret Thatcher.

Meanwhile, disputes between neighbours, and often trivial harassment cases, are increasingly likely to come to court. This legalistic approach to social and political problems is causing disquiet, however. Critics question whether fines or imprisonment are always the answer to interpersonal problems.

Questions are being raised about the impact new laws are having on British justice, and the individuals' relationship to the state and to each other.

The use of the law for political ends is also said to be corrupting the criminal justice system, with the abolition of double jeopardy (so that the accused can now be tried twice), proposals to increase the detention without trial of terrorist suspects to 42 days and the rise of race and religious hate laws.

A drive to increase the conviction rate in cases such as rape, the increased prominence of the victim in harassment law and the trial process are also attracting criticism as well as support. Are we overburdening the law with social and political problems, and undermining it in the process?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqgIZb7pzow

http://www.battleofideas.org.uk/index.php/2008/session_detail/1492

Too Many Laws 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igXIiWaMPrM

*****

John Cooper QC

http://www.john-cooper.info

http://www.25bedfordrow.com/john-cooper-qc/practice-overview.asp

https://twitter.com/John_Cooper_QC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cooper

http://www.battleofideas.org.uk/index.php/2008/speaker_detail/1519 

Prof. John Fitzpatrick

http://www.kent.ac.uk/law/people/academic/Fitzpatrick,_John.html

http://www.debatingmatters.com/people/john_fitzpatrick

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/john-fitzpatrick/b/4b9/99a 

http://www.battleofideas.org.uk/index.php/2008/speaker_detail/995

False Sexual Allegations - Lot Of It About, It Seems

PUBLISHED: 13:50, 19 August 2013 | UPDATED: 18:20, 19 August 2013

'It's never too late to right your wrong': US daughter who sent her own father to prison for 40 years after lying that he raped her pleads for his release

">Daryl Kelly jailed in 1997 after his eldest daughter accused him of rape,
>Now 24, Chaneya Kelly said she was forced to make claim by her mother,
>Said mother Charade threatened to beat her if she did not accuse father,
>Charade Kelly signed a sworn affadavit declaring she threatened Chaneya,
>Daryl Kelly jailed for 20 to 40 years after being convicted by a jury."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2397002/Daughter-sent-father-prison-40-years-lying-raped-pleads-release.html

Daughter says she lied about her dad raping her

http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/18/19936408-daughter-i-lied-and-sent-my-dad-to-prison-for-rape?lite

*****

Posted: Monday, August 19, 2013 4:53 am | Updated: 8:03 am, Mon Aug 19, 2013 

Hampton woman to be sentenced today for lying about sexual assault

"A Hampton woman who invented a sexual assault that sent an innocent man to prison is set to be sentenced today, clearing the way for the Virginia Court of Appeals to consider clearing his name.

Elizabeth Paige Coast, 23, falsely accused Johnathan C. Montgomery of sexually assaulting her in 2000 when she was 10 years old. She pleaded guilty in May to perjury and faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced in Hampton Circuit Court this afternoon."

http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/hampton-woman-to-be-sentenced-today-for-lying-about-sexual/article_cbb89e0c-08ac-11e3-a654-0019bb30f31a.html

Elizabeth Paige Coast Gets Two Months In Jail [!] For Perjury While Johnathan Montgomery, The Man She Lied About In Court, Served Four Years

http://www.onenewspage.co.uk/n/US/74vzeni8h/Elizabeth-Paige-Coast-Gets-Two-Months-In-Jail.htm

http://jonathanturley.org/2013/08/20/virginia-woman-falsely-accuses-man-of-rape-and-sends-him-away-for-four-years-before-recanting-given-just-60-days-in-jail-to-be-served-on-weekends/

Man freed from prison after serving four years when woman wrongly claimed he molested her when she was 10

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2237300/Man-freed-prison-serving-years-woman-wrongly-claimed-molested-10.html

*****

9 August 2013 Last updated at 11:03

False rape claim woman Cathy Richardson jailed

"Cathy Richardson Cathy Richardson was jailed for perverting the course of justice

A woman who falsely claimed she had been raped has been jailed for a year.

Cathy Richardson, 26, from Viking Court in Shoebury, Essex, told officers she had been sexually assaulted several times over two months in 2012 by a man she knew.

A man was arrested on suspicion of rape but was later released without charge after a series of interviews.

Richardson was jailed for 12 months at Basildon Crown Court after admitting perverting the course of justice."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-23629148

*****

10 August 2013 Last updated at 11:08

Angela England jailed over Conwy false rape allegation

"Angela England Angela England alleged rape following a night out

A mother who falsely accused a taxi driver of raping her has been jailed for 20 months at Mold Crown Court.

Angela England, 42, who was living in Conwy county at the time, admitted perverting the course of justice on 30 May last year."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-23645807

*****

Community Of The Wrongly Accused

http://www.cotwa.info

Falsely Accused of Sexual Abuse?

http://www.pafaa.org.uk/wordpress

False Rape Society

http://falserapesociety.blogspot.co.uk

FalseRape.Net

http://www.falserape.net

FACT

http://www.factuk.org

The latest international false rape allegations

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/356548

*****

False claim of abuse still haunts Chino ex-teacher

http://www.dailybulletin.com/general-news/20130805/false-claim-of-abuse-still-haunts-chino-ex-teacher

Liberty Or Not

August 2013

At liberty to do what

"Emma Davies, Head of the Prison Law department at Hine Solicitors, together with Michaela Henderson-Thynne of the Department look at licence conditions

Prisoners who have been subject to a sentence of 12 months or over and who are released from custody into the community will be subject to a licence period as part of their sentence. This licence period will include numerous licence conditions. In the latter part of last year a new Prison Service Instrument (PSI) 40/2012 was introduced dealing with the issue of licence conditions. This article examines some of the main principles of that PSI to inform prisoners who may soon be subject to release on licence of these principles and what they need to watch out for."

Internet related licence conditions. 

"There were previously very onerous additional licence conditions that could be imposed which related to computer and internet access. These can no longer be imposed upon newly released prisoners unless they are imposed as bespoke licence conditions (see 2.20 of PSI 40/2012).

An application for these old additional conditions will therefore need to be made to the Public Procircumtection Casework Section [Public Protection Casework Section] (PPCS) at the Ministry of Justice. They will then only form part of a prisoner's licence as a bespoke condition if permission is granted by the PPCS.

However there are still additional conditions that can be imposed upon a prisoner, without the need for permission from the PPCS, which relate to computer access/ownership. These are worded differently and are set out at 2.20 of PSI 40/2012."

http://www.insidetime.org/articleview.asp?a=1556&c=at_liberty_to_do_what

Paedo Packing Of Doom

Published: 9 hrs ago

Pervs [offensive and inflammatory] pack toys

"Exclusive [;)]

Vending machine goodies made by jailed paedos [sic]

Outrage ... Littlehey Prison in Cambs

PAEDOPHILE lags [sic] are being paid to pack kids’ toys in jail, The Sun can reveal.

Row ... a ToyVend machine

The beasts [offensive and inflammatory] — joined by perverts [offensive and inflammatory] and rapists — stuff up to 30,000 a day into capsules for vending machines.

A prison source [hahaha] said: “Some must be dreaming of the delight on the little faces these gifts will bring — it makes me sick with rage. [madness]”

Around 20 cons at a time pack the toys — models from Super Mario, Harry Potter and Disney — at category C HMP Littlehey in Cambs.

Up to 95 per cent of the lags are apparently [?] sex predators [sic].

Peter Saunders, of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, blasted: “There’s something perverse about it.” [that is because, you are, Peter - eye of the beholder, and all that]

The foreign-made items are from ToyVend PLC, which supplies vending machines, toys, bouncy balls and sweets.

Last night HM Prison Service apologised [?] and said “immediate steps” had been taken to stop sex offenders working on the contract. But furious ToyVend — based in Rugby, Warwicks — has now axed its work with the jail.

It said: “We’re very disturbed to hear about this.”"

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/5013479/Pervert-prisoners-pack-toys-in-prison.html

11 Products You Didn't Know Were Made By Prisoners

http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/06/13/prisoners-made-products

SARNwich Anyone?

July 2013

The non-sense of prison psychology

"Anthony Boden uncovers the inconsistencies of a ‘pseudoscience’

I am a post-tariff IPP. Along with many others in the same position to say that I am frustrated by this sentence would be a gross understatement. My biggest complaint is the government-prescribed, psychological abuse delivered in the form of Offending Behaviour Programmes. There is no scientific basis behind OBPs, which are nothing more than psychological experiments. This country condemned the Nazi’s for conducting psychological experiments on prisoners during World War II, and yet we allow this travesty to continue upon our own shores and in our own prisons. Every intelligent being should ask themselves how this inexcusable position has arisen and what can be done to resolve the issue. I have already formulated my own theories, which I will explain with the help of some of the greatest minds in history.

It was Marie Curie who said, ‘Nothing in life is to be feared, only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more so that you may fear less ...’"

http://www.insidetime.org/articleview.asp?a=1515&c=the_nonsense_of_prison_psychology

*****

4/7/2013

"As a forensic (though not prison) psychologist, I have a great deal of sympathy with Anthony's frustrations. However, quoting Feynman is a bit risky, partly because he wasn't a psychologist, and partly because his views must be somewhat out of date as he is somewhat dead (25 years ago this year). Also, he is somewhat wrong - for example, in stating that psychological experiments don't get repeated. Anyway, none of this actually bears on the scientific status (or otherwise) of present day UK risk assessment.

There has actually been some respectable scientific investigation of risk assessment techniques. For example, a couple of studies have recently investigated the SARN, and demonstrated that the allegedly "dynamic" factors assessed do not have any predictive power over and above that of the static factors of the Risk Matrix 2000. In other words, if someone is assessed using the SARN, this cannot tell us anything at all about his risk before "treatment", his risk after "treatment", or any improvement during it. Therefore, assessments of alleged "unmet treatment needs" which depend upon the SARN are scientifically invalid. I have seen such an assessment successfully challenged in a parole hearing (the man was released) and am astonished that no one has apparently challenged it in the High Court. This is even more astonishing, because studies have been available for as long as 15 years showing that certain "risk factors" routinely assessed in sex offenders are in fact not risk factors at all. A 2005 study concluded: “Many of the variables commonly addressed in sex offender treatment programs (e.g., psychological distress, denial of sex crime, victim empathy, stated motivation for treatment) had little or no relationship with sexual or violent recidivism.” Yet people carry on as if nothing had happened.

Another practice which has been scientifically investigated, and shown to be invalid, is the practice of "adjusting" static risk assessments in the light of clinical information. For example, saying something like "the Risk Matrix 2000 says this man is low risk, but in the light of XYZ I would estimate his risk as medium". A number of studies have shown that altering a static risk assessment in this way reduces its accuracy. Always. This is mathematically inevitable, because clinical estimation of risk has been scientifically demonstrated to be very poor, and mixing a poor predictor with a better one reduces the overall accuracy to the level of the poor one. Static risk predictors are not fantastic, but they are about 65 to 70% accurate, which may sound impressive until you realise that you can get 50% accuracy by tossing a coin. Still, they do better than chance.

What worries me is that those doing the risk assessment seem very often not to be aware of how limited it is. They should be."

http://www.insidetime.org/articleview.asp?a=1515&c=the_nonsense_of_prison_psychology

SARN and SOTP useless: Official

https://sites.google.com/site/forpsychadvice/home/anns/sarnandsotpuselessofficial

Sudden Urges

Friday, May 24, 2013, 7:48 AM

Judge slashes sentence for Virginia teacher who slept with student, citing diagnosis of hypersexuality

"Former Rustburg teacher KC, 33, only has to serve four months of her 11-year sentence after a judge ruled she could not control her sudden sexual urges.

KC, a former teacher in Rustberg, Va. who admitted to having a sexual relationship with a student, will serve just four months in jail.

A Virginia high school teacher who slept with a student will only spent four months of her 11-year sentence behind bars after she was diagnosed with hypersexuality.

KC, 33, will be freed more than a decade early after a judge ruled she could not control the sudden sexual urges that took over her body...."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/judge-slashes-sentence-va-student-sex-case-article-1.1353552

It Could Be You

POSTED: 12:37 PM MDT May 15, 2013

Sex offender vindicated 2 decades later

"A convicted sex offender has been vindicated after his now adult-children stepped forward to say he did not sexually abuse them.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/10NTa3g) Kevin Peterson finished serving 15 years in prison in 2007. Upon his release, he was required to register as a sex offender.

The allegations surfaced in 1990 while Peterson was engaged in a custody battle over his children, then 5 and 8 years old. Now an adult, his son cried as he told officials he had lied.

Peterson was cleared under a Utah law that went into effect in 2008 that allows new or changed evidence, such as DNA, to be taken into consideration.

Peterson is the fourth person cleared under this law. Two of the cases are being appealed by the state."

http://www.kjct8.com/news/sex-offender-vindicated-2-decades-later/-/163152/20160522/-/1d52r7/-/index.html

First Published May 15 2013 01:01 am • Last Updated May 15 2013 09:45 am

Utah man vindicated after serving 15 years for child sexual abuse

"Child sexual abuse » Utahn’s son and daughter recanted after he served 15 years in prison."

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55960859-78/peterson-richards-prison-served.html.csp

Man exonerated after 15 years in prison for crime he didn't commit

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865580108/Man-exonerated-after-15-years-in-prison-for-crime-he-didnt-commit.html