In the scheme of things the state jailing people is a relatively new system for dealing with offenders. It is also a system where it has been said that how we treat those in Prison is a measure of society. The removal of a persons liberty is very serious.

The Law in this area is broad & ever changing. It is also perhaps unique at times as it could be viewed as something of a hybrid between criminal law, civil law & public law. It is an area subject to an increasing amount of case law & legislation.

The recent Human Rights legislation combined with government changes to various related services & instructions has dramatically affected the Prison Service, Prisons & Prisoners.

Tightening of the guidance regarding the recall of Prisoners released on licence at the latter part of their sentence combined with transfer of the decision making to civil servants has also seen huge pressure on an already bulging Prison population. It is a fact that a few years ago if you were accused of a criminal offence whilst on licence the system would generally wait to see if you were actually guilty before making one serve the remainder of their licence. Not so anymore. A person can be - & often is - recalled for far less & the system frequently does not wait for judgment on the new matter before recalling that person to prison on the old matter.

Some may say that is that person's problem but in many cases the reason for recall can be flawed or even false. Of course until that is established the person remains in jail unless they can successfully appeal the decision

There are many areas & stages in which we can & do assist those sentenced to imprisonment.

When a defendant in a criminal case either pleads or is found guilty there is often a risk of a custodial sentence. For many this is a very daunting & disturbing prospect

There are many purposes to jailing a person, punishment, deterrent &, what is often overlooked, rehabilitation.

Once a person begins a sentence they will be given a sentence plan with a view to their hoped for rehabilitation & be categorised in terms of their risk if they were to escape. All effectively start on basic regime which allows certain limited privileges and over time if they demonstrate compliance they may receive enhanced status which in turn gains them enhanced privileges, such as extra visits.

On the other side of the coin the Prison has an understandably strict disciplinary system which can result in a host of consequences from a reduction in status / privileges to additional days being added to the custodial portion of their sentence.

In simple parlance 'carrot & stick'.

Clients serving a sentence often need help & or intervention with these matters & or representation, for example at adjudications for disciplinary matters.

Other Prisoners such as Lifers, those under old Parole regimes, those seeking early release under the various schemes or those seeking temporary release say to attend a close relative's funeral may need help & representation in applying for release.

During their sentence other prisoners genuinely attempt to rehabilitate but are frustrated, perhaps by a lack of resources so require help making representations.

There are host of matters too numerous to adequately address here where a prisoner may genuinely need & or deserve legal representation & advice but of course many, if not most, have no funds.

Thankfully for them, in many cases, particularly those involving tribunals & or the length of time to actually be served in Prison there is sometimes available public funding to assist them with 'matters arising out of his or her sentence'.

Where appropriate that funding is available under both the civil and criminal legal aid schemes & can be undertaken by firms who possess a General Criminal Contract as this firm does.

In addition, members of our staff have specialist qualifications in Prison Law. Our staff also has a variety of experience of representing clients at the various tribunals arising out of this area, such as Lifer Panels, Oral Parole Hearings & Disciplinary Adjudications.

As with other areas we also work in conjunction with a number of Barristers Chambers & specialist Counsel. As a standard we aim to operate only with specialist Criminal Defence Counsel who appear on our approved list of Counsel which we have developed over the years from our experience

Contact us if you or another needs advice & assistance with any of the topics listed below. If you cannot see the issue concerning you please write to us setting out the problem & we will attempt to confirm if we can assist.

• Allocation, Categorisation, Status & Sentence Planning
• Requests & Complaints Procedure
• Prisoners Rights
• Discipline & Adjudications
• HDC (Tagging)
• Applications for Temporary Release
• Applications for Parole
• Transfers Requests
• Lifer Panels
• Oral Parole Board Hearings
• Recall to Prison & Applications for Re-Release
• Complaints to the Prison Ombudsman
• Judicial Review of Decisions by public bodies