Howard League for Penal Reform

Howard League for Penal Reform

The Howard League for Penal Reform is a London-based registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. Founded in 1866 as the Howard Association, a merger with the Penal Reform League in 1921 created the Howard League for Penal Reform. The Howard League is entirely independent of government and is funded by voluntary donations. The Howard League's Director since 1986 has been Frances Crook.

Over its 140-year history, the Howard League has had a significant impact on the development of criminal justice policy. It led the creation of various other agencies and organisations, including the Magistrates Association, Victim Support and the [http://www.prisonersadvice.org.uk Prisoners' Advice Service] Throughout its history it has campaigned vigorously against the death penalty.

The Howard League has mounted recent high-profile campaigns on children in prison, women prisoners, suicide and self-harm, community sentences, prison education, and young offenders.

The Howard League is a membership organisation and draws its members from all parts of society - from MPs, QCs, peers and academics, to students, prisoners and legal professionals. In recent years, there has been widespread expansion of the number of students involved in the work of the Howard League, specifically setting up student societies within universities, such as Oxford, Bristol and Brighton. The students take on a wide range of activities, including organising events, lectures and fundraising at music festivals.

A law department was set up in 2002 following the landmark victory the organisation achieved in the Children Act case. The team has evolved and now has a criminal defence (prison law) contract with the Legal Services Commission, for which it has been awarded the Quality Mark. The team provides the only dedicated legal service for young people in custody in England and Wales.

The Howard League for Penal Reform's legal team acts on behalf of young people under the age of 21 in custody. The work of The Howard League for Penal Reform’s legal department has provided access to justice for many young people in custody. Not only does the team deal with treatment and conditions inside prison but has increasingly dealt with issues concerning the provision of support and accommodation for children on release from custody, enabling children to leave custody with improved lives that are far less likely to accumulate a “cluster” of legal problems in the future.

In 2005, the Howard League set up a graphic design studio in Coldingley Prison which offers prisoners fully remunerated employment at market rates. Barbed graphic design studio is a social enterprise. All the profits made are re-invested in the enterprise to further its social goals and into helping prisoners' experiences in prison equip them for a law-abiding life.

The Howard League has a number of high-profile supporters, including Michael Palin, Prunella Scales, Sheila Hancock, Ray Fearon, Monty Don, Cherie Booth, and a large number of members of the House of Lords and House of Commons. The Howard League Centre for Penal Reform, into which the organisation moved in 2000, was officially opened by Betty Boothroyd in November 2001. The Centre is located in Hackney, north London.

Today, the Howard League has a staff of twenty-one (as of September 2008) and more than fifteen trustees, including Lord Alex Carlile as President since 2006 (previous presidents include the playwright John Mortimer QC). The current Chair, appointed in January 2007, is Sue Wade, former deputy chief probation officer and youth justice manager in Hampshire. The previous Chair was Dick Whitfield, former Chief probation officer in Kent, and a member of the Parole Board.

See also

* Timeline of children's rights in the United Kingdom

External links

* [http://www.howardleague.org Howard League for Penal Reform]
* [http://www.howardleague.org/index.php?id=lawdeptindex0 Howard League legal department]
* [http://www.barbed.org.uk Barbed design studio]
* [http://www.howardleague.org/index.php?id=joinusindex Become a member of the Howard League]
* [http://www.howardleague.org/index.php?id=studycentreindex Howard League study centre]
* [http://www.howardleague.org/index.php?id=245 Howard League students]
* [http://www.new.facebook.com/wall.php?id=503159914&banter_id=283600210#/group.php?gid=2233451107 The Howard League on Facebook]
* [http://www.howardleague.org/index.php?id=146 Howard League in the media]


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