The Howard League for Penal Reform is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It is the oldest

penal 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. ...

organisation in the world, named after

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921, following a merger with the Penal Reform League. The charity focuses on penal reform in England and Wales. The Howard League is independent of the United Kingdom government and is funded by voluntary donations and membership donations. The charity also receives funding from the

Legal Services Commission The Legal Services Commission (LSC) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Justice which was responsible for the operational administration of legal aid in England and Wales between 2000 and 2013. Overview The LSC was re ...

, as it holds Legal Aid contracts in order to perform its work with young people in custody. The Howard League Centre for Penal Reform, the charity's headquarters since 2000, was officially opened by Betty Boothroyd in November 2001. The Centre is located in north London.

History

In 1921, the Howard Association merged with the Penal Reform League to become the Howard League for Penal Reform. The Penal Reform League had been founded in 1907 with Arthur St John as Secretary. The new organisation was led by Margery Fry, who had been Secretary of the Penal Reform League since 1918. Fry was succeeded by Cicely Craven as honorary secretary of the Howard League in 1926. The Howard League played a key role in campaigning for the abolition of

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

; advocated for the founding of the

National Probation Service The Probation Service (formerly the National Probation Service) for England and Wales is a statutory criminal justice service, mainly responsible for the supervision of offenders in the community and the provision of reports to the criminal cour ...

; and co-founded the

Prisoners' Advice Service Prisoners' Advice Service (PAS) is a London-based registered charity in England and Wales that provides free, confidential legal advice and representation to prisoners regarding their rights, the application of prison rules and conditions of impr ...

. The charity also successfully campaigned for the introduction of the victims' compensation scheme. Historically-related organisations operate in a number of other commonwealth countries including the

John Howard Society of Canada John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and the

New Zealand Howard League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

of which the

Howard League for Penal Reform Canterbury The Howard League for Penal Reform Canterbury is an organisation based in Christchurch, New Zealand, that lobbies for prison reform and works in Canterbury prisons. It is based on the British Howard League for Penal Reform. History and purpose ...

is a part. In October 2021, Andrea Coomber, previously director of

JUSTICE Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, succeeded Frances Crook as Chief Executive of the Howard League.

Child arrests

The Howard League campaigns for a reduction in the number of arrests of children in England and Wales. Data published by the charity in 2016 showed that the number of arrests of children had fallen by 59 per cent in six years (from 245,763 in 2010 to 101,926 in 2015). The Howard League's Chief Executive, Frances Crook, said that the fall could be attributed to better use of resources, removing national targets, improving staff training, and support from communities.

Books For Prisoners

The Howard League's Books For Prisoners campaign was set up in 2014 to overturn restrictions on sending books to people in prisons in England and Wales. The campaign was supported by another charity,

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associat ...

, and writers including

Carol Ann Duffy Dame Carol Ann Duffy (born 23 December 1955) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, resigning in 2019. She was the first ...

, the

Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom The British Poet Laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom, currently on the advice of the prime minister. The role does not entail any specific duties, but there is an expectation that the holder will wri ...

;

Mark Haddon Mark Haddon (born 28 October 1962) is an English novelist, best known for ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'' (2003). He won the Whitbread Award, the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award, Guardian Prize, and a Commonwealth Wr ...

; Sarah Waters; David Hare;

A. L. Kennedy Alison Louise Kennedy (born 22 October 1965) is a Scottish writer, academic and stand-up comedian. She writes novels, short stories and non-fiction, and is known for her dark tone and her blending of realism and fantasy. She contributes columns ...

;

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

;

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and ...

;

Joanne Harris Joanne Michèle Sylvie Harris (born 3 July 1964) is an English-French author, best known for her novel '' Chocolat'' (1999), which was adapted the following year for the film '' Chocolat''. Early life Harris was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, t ...

;

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a sch ...

;

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

;

Nick Hornby Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir '' Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work ...

; Ruth Padel and

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy '' His Dark Materials'' and '' The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'', a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, ''T ...

. The campaign was successful. In December 2014, High Court judge Mr Justice Collins ruled that there was "no good reason" to restrict access to books for prisoners.

Criminal Courts Charge

The Howard League campaigned against the criminal courts charge, which required defendants who were convicted of a crime to pay fees ranging from £150 to £1,200 towards the cost of their case. When the charge was suspended by the then Justice Secretary

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Par ...

in December 2015, Howard League Chief Executive Frances Crook called the decision a "victory for justice".

Legal work

The Howard League has a legal team that helps children and young people in the criminal justice system. It provides a free and confidential advice line for prisoners under the age of 21. The legal team also brings cases and conducts participation work to help shape the law and empower children to use their rights.

Community Awards

The Howard League runs an annual Community Awards competition to recognise successful community projects that encourage desistance from crime.

Similar organisations

Howard League Scotland Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probab ...

References

External links

Official website

Catalogue of the Howard League archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

{{Authority control Organizations established in 1866 Penal system in the United Kingdom Prison charities based in the United Kingdom Prison reform Charities based in London 1866 establishments in the United Kingdom Reform in the United Kingdom