Richard Thomson

How Brexit drained the Tories’ talent pool The party can’t keep expecting successful people to pretend that leaving the EU was a good idea

How Brexit drained the Tories’ talent pool on.ft.com/4qarx21 | opinion

What screen time really does to children's brains Screen time has become synonymous with bad news - but the science may not be as straightforward as it seems

Screen time research is full of contradictions. For me, the imperative is to ensure that young people get plenty fresh air and exercise, rather than obsess about screen time. BBC News - What screen time really does to children's brains - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Howard League | What is sentence inflation? What is sentence inflation? An expert summary by the Howard League for Penal Reform.

OK, we need to talk about sentencing.

howardleague.org/what-is-sent...

It's tough, immigration drives up economic growth, supports the delivery of public services, and raises the tax revenue to pay for them. However, the electorate is unconvinced, so 'how much is too much?' is an important political question.

Gangs hold such influence over jails ‘it keeps me awake at night’, says Timpson Minister says prison staff who assist organised criminals are being targeted by ‘beefed up’ corruption unit

Organised criminal gangs who “corrupt” staff and enforce drug debts with violence hold such a huge influence over jails across England and Wales that it “keeps me awake at night”, the prisons minister Lord Timpson has said.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Well said Liz. Sport is so important for the wellbeing of young people. We need to do everything we can to encourage them.

Brilliant news. That's a great lineup of subject experts.

Sometimes, you just need to figure out if you want to be a battery human or a free-range one.

Gwynedd house prices plunge as council acts on second homes House prices in a Welsh county have fallen by more than 12% year-on-year, according to new figures.

BBC News - Gwynedd house prices plunge as council acts on second homes - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... sensible housing policy at last

Photo of Richard, wearing a striped business shirt and black jacket, standing in front of a yellow and white PowerPoint slide about challenges, progress, and opportunities in community justice in Scotland.

Many thanks to Richard (@richiethomson.bsky.social) from Community Justice Scotland for speaking to our undergraduate #Criminology students. Some good Justice careers and employability questions came up, too.

Barlinnie replacement cost rises to £1bn as delivery date pushed back The new HMP Glasgow in Provanhill is now expected to be completed by 2028.

Rona Dougall discusses the £1billion HMP Glasgow with myself and Jordan Robertson on Scotland Tonight at 10:40pm on STV. Jordan offers apt insights from having previously been incarcerated in Victorian-era Barlinnie, which this new 'super jail' will replace in 2028. [1/🧵]
news.stv.tv/west-central...

Holocaust survivors fear Europe is forgetting the lessons of Auschwitz Eighty years after the liberation of the concentration camp, some politicians have been quick to target outsiders.

I lived in a Jewish community in the late 1980s. I saw holocaust tattoos and what I now understand to be PTSD. Over the decades, I've seen humanity improve so much, but we seem to now be on the precipice of hate, delusion and anger. BBC News - Holocaust survivors fear...
www.bbc.com/news/article...

This is also a straightforward case where you can clearly see that it is a staggering misuse of imprisonment. If this is the way we use such punishments there is little hope of reducing the absurd numbers we continue to keep behind bars.

'Burned-out' probation officers fear ex-prisoners will reoffend Probation officers say they were overworked even before thousands of prisoners were released early.

More sad news about the English probation service, where there’s been endless rearrangement of the deckchairs driven by strategic delusion and underfunding. BBC News - Probation: 'Too few staff, with too little experience, managing too many offenders'
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Bosses at Greggs, Iceland and Oliver Bonas in drive to help employ criminals Prisons minister James Timpson writes below for The Mirror on how getting offenders into work can help make our streets safer and tackle the overcrowding crisis in jails

New Regional Employment Councils with employers on their boards to support access to employment after prison in England.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Sentence inflation: a judicial critique. The most senior former judges in England and Wales have called on the government to reverse the trend of imposing ever longer sentences, giving warning that radical solutions are needed to address the acute crisis in prisons.

We joined together with the most senior former judges in England and Wales, to call on the government to reverse the trend of imposing ever longer sentences.

Our paper looks at the problem, the causes and suggests what could be done: howardleague.org/news/sentenc...

We must seize the opportunity to fix our broken prisons No one would disagree that the prison system is in crisis. The upcoming sentencing review presents us with a chance for real change.

"We cannot build our way out of this crisis. The billions earmarked for opening new jails would be better invested in securing an effective and responsive probation service, working to cut crime in the community."

Read more from our Chief Executive here: www.bigissue.com/opinion/pris...

Macquarie Dictionary’s annual word of the year for 2024 is enshittification. This is defined as “the gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided”

📢 Join Our Board of Trustees 📢

We believe in the power of lived experience to drive meaningful change. We’re looking to recruit Trustees who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system to join our team and help guide our work.

📧 email us at info@nextchapterscotland.org.uk

Useful article. For me it underscores the importance of quality analysis. I.e which triangulates quant data, qualitative data and draws on the expertise of lived experience and the workforce. We need many lenses to address the Dunning Krugar Effect among strategists.

Great to see Nick Hartshorne-Evans has been awarded BEM. The Pumping Marvellous Foundation is a patient led support system. A great example of how coordinating living experience evidence & peer support adds so much to professional knowledge and patient wellbeing.

Starmer asks UK regulators for ideas to boost growth The prime minister writes to regulators including Ofgem and Ofwat for ideas to boost economic growth.

BBC News - Starmer asks UK regulators for ideas to boost growth
www.bbc.com/news/article... You never know how much of this is politics but it would be a good idea to use more solid economic analysis to support the design and delivery of regulations

I keep perceiving a bias across the justice system. Anchors to a notion that men aged over 25 are impervious to vulnerability. Meanwhile, at the hard edges of trauma, men learn to hide it just to survive for a while. But hiding and ignoring vulnerability is so harmful!

Disappointed to see confirmation that the number of <1 year sentences creeping up again in Scotland. Still well below pre-pandemic but infers that more people have had their desistance & recovery placed at risk through imprisonment rather than evidence based community solutions.

CCTV shows pupils abused and locked in padded room Police have said staff will not face action over abuse of autistic children shown in videos leaked to the BBC.

Although child protection and children's rights have developed significantly, this can still happen in the UK! BBC News - CCTV shows pupils abused and locked in padded room.
www.bbc.com/news/article...

UNISON SCOTLAND LUNCHTIME WEBINAR - CHALLENGES IN JUSTICE SOCIAL WORK Our latest free one hour webinar critically examines issues facing social workers in Justice settings. With great speakers and Q&A

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unison-sco...
Free 1 hr lunchtime event this Weds. Join us for a critical & radically inspired discussion on Justice Services in social work. Great speakers! Please pass on.

I’m looking for a potential collaborative PhD supervisor in #criminology who has in interest in women involved with the community justice system. I’m thinking of exploring how mothers who are under supervision negotiate their identities as “offender” and “mother” and how to be both #AcademicSky

Homeless people to be given cash in first major UK trial to reduce poverty Led by King’s College London, study will recruit 360 people in England and Wales to explore benefits of scheme Researchers are conducting the UK’s first major scientific trials to establish whether giving homeless people cash is a more effective way of…

Homeless people to be given cash in first major UK trial to reduce poverty