The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) was founded in 1981 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, by a small group of

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes. ...

campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the

Howard League for Penal Reform The Howard League for Penal Reform is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921, ...

was heading, concentrating more on community punishments than on traditional prison reform issues. Founding members included Sir

Monty Finniston Sir Harold Montague "Monty" Finniston FRS FRSE (15 August 1912 – 2 February 1991) was a Scottish industrialist. Life He was born at 26 Aikenhead Road in Govanhill, Glasgow the son of Robert Finniston. His family were of Russian Jewish origi ...

and

Veronica Linklater Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater of Butterstone (15 April 1943 – 15 December 2022) was a British Liberal Democrat politician and member of the House of Lords. Her career indicates her interests in children's welfare, education and spe ...

. PRT offers advice and information to thousands of people every year:

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

ers, their families,

and

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

staff, the

legal profession Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education. It is difficult t ...

, students, academics and interested members of the public. PRT organise an annual lecture (delivered by

Charles Clarke Charles Rodway Clarke (born 21 September 1950) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006. Early life T ...

MP, Home Secretary, in 2005), and a range of conferences and seminars which attract high-profile speakers and large audiences. The Prison Reform Trust carries out research on all aspects of prison. Recent studies include: prisoners' views on prison education, the mental health needs of women prisoners, older prisoners, prisoner councils, foreign national prisoners, prisoner votes, and a report into how sentencers make the decision to imprison offenders. Stephen Shaw was Director of PRT from 1981 to 1999, when he became the

Prisons and Probation Ombudsman The 'Prisons and Probation Ombudsman'' (PPO) is a public body, in England and Wales, appointed by the Secretary of State for Justice to investigate complaints from prisoners, those subject to probation supervision, young people in detention (prison ...

for England and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He was succeeded as Director by Juliet Lyon. Sir

was succeeded as Chair by the former Cabinet Minister,

Edmund Dell Edmund Emanuel Dell (15 August 1921 – 1 November 1999) was a British politician and businessman. Early life Dell was born in London, the son of a Jewish manufacturer. In the Second World War he served in the Royal Artillery, reaching the r ...

, broadcaster and journalist, Jon Snow. Lord

Douglas Hurd Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995. A career diplomat and political secretary to P ...

, the former

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

and

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

, succeeded Jon Snow as PRT's fourth chair in November 1997. Robert Fellowes, a

crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

peer, who has served as Private Secretary to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, and holds a senior position at

Barclays plc Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

succeeded Douglas Hurd in September 2001.

References

External links

Prison Reform TrustHoward League for Penal Reform
{{Authority control Organizations established in 1981 Prison charities based in the United Kingdom Charities based in London Prison reform 1981 establishments in the United Kingdom Reform in the United Kingdom

See also

References

External links