Footholds for reform
Juliet Lyon reflects on her time leading the Prison Reform Trust and highlights some concerns and challenges
I became director of the Prison Reform Trust in spring 2000. A few months after my arrival, in a meeting with the then chair of the charity, Douglas Hurd, I sought his advice about saying the same things about penal reform over and over again.
We discussed the humanity and common sense in using imprisonment as sparingly as possible and the vital part prison could play if put in its proper place, one of absolute last resort, in the justice system. We also talked about the need to improve the treatment of, and conditions for, prisoners and their families, and the importance of enabling people in prison to take responsibility for their lives.
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