Liz Truss must “get a grip” of the thousands of prisoners overstaying their sentences and tackle rising violence in jails, the chief inspector has demanded. Peter Clarke said prison violence was “rising seriously”, fuelled by staffing shortages, poor conditions and widespread drug use. He also told the justice secretary to address the issue of thousands of inmates languishing in prison having served their sentences as a “matter of urgency”. “We suggest that the only person who’s got the authority and the ability to get a grip on this whole situation and to make things happen, it may mean policy changes, it may mean changes in legislation, but the only person we would say can grip this is the Secretary of State,” he told the Today…

Source: The Times November 17, 2016 12:02 UTC