Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. If you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further...

This September I am doing the Great North Run to mark the 150th birthday of The Howard League for Penal Reform. Whilst it is the oldest penal reform charity in the world, originally helping to abolish capital punishment and form the probation service, it has evolved to reflect new challenges, such as 'chronic overcrowding, rising violence, a growing number of incidents of self-injury, and the highest-ever number of people dying by suicide in prisons'.

The Howard League is a truly multi-functional charity. It has launched several high profile campaigns such as Books for Prisoners, which helped lift arbitrary and harmful restrictions on prisoners receiving books from friends and family. It's work with the police ensured that child arrests fell by 59% between 2010 and 2015. It has published reports on - and conducted inquiries into - a range of issues, from suicide and sex in prison generally to women and children prisoners specifically. It successfully took the government to court in 2003, ensuring that the 1989 Children Act now applies to children in, as well as out, of custody. Its revered legal team often provides the best route to legal representation for those in custody and under the age of 21.

The work of The Howard League is perhaps more important now than ever before. The current period of purdah prior to the general election means that rhetoric will take priority over reform, before a new justice secretary settles into the job – a process which will take several weeks, delaying the Prisons and Courts Bill and any other parliamentary action that attempts to address the current prisons crisis.

In the meantime, all of the problems outlined by recent reports – a decline in prison officers and increase in prisoners, further violence and drug use in prisons, and overcrowding/underfunding depriving prisoners of essential access to effective rehabilitation – will only worsen. Following June 8th, we need to hit the ground running by making sure that those with the expertise and experience necessary to improve the criminal justice system are empowered, financially and politically.

Only through supporting organisations like The Howard League can we build a safer, more effective and more humane penal system that meets the needs of both victims and offenders. If prison does not provide the environment necessary for offenders to profoundly reflect upon the impact of their offending, everyone suffers from the resulting reoffending (indeed, almost half of adults sentenced to prison in England and Wales are reconvicted within one year of release).

Overwhelming evidence shows that offender's backgrounds disproportionately include 'deprived homes, poor parental employment records, low educational attainment' or alcohol and drug abuse. On top of this, a majority of prisoners have at least one personality disorder. Every day, these men, women and children who are in need of help and commit non-violent (often drug-related) offences are criminalised unnecessarily in a system which does little to solve the 'crime problem' and nothing to end the socioeconomic injustices that sustain it. By protecting them instead of incarcerating them, we are in turn protecting society from an avoidable cycle of reoffending.

I am immensely grateful to you for considering supporting the work of The Howard League for Penal Reform - a truly wonderful charity that campaigns for those who can't campaign for themselves. You deserve a criminal justice system that works to improve peoples lives, not throw them away. Thank you for helping to make that happen.

'We must do all we can to ensure that everyone can reach their potential and contribute to our communities in a positive way. This means ensuring that prisons are safe and decent, and used only as a last resort. Bold action is needed to stop throwing more and more people into these failing institutions, where they are swept away into deeper currents of crime and misery'
- Frances Crook, CEO of the Howard League for Penal Reform.

Please check out the Howard League site for more information:
http://howardleague.org/

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.