Jail Bird: Behind Bars and Beyond – How Britain’s Legal System Really Works

This book is a comprehensive review of prison law and policy, and legal practice from a practitioner’s perspective. It describes the sort of work that is done and how the author ended up behind bars (representing prisoners).

Edwards, who has practised prison law since 2008, also provides a history of the prison system. Prison officers are called screws because they used a screw to tighten up the treadmill on which inmates walked as a form of punishment. The author visits Reading, where Oscar Wilde (pictured) was imprisoned, and HMP Spring Hill, which apparently was handed to the prison estate by the owner on condition someone looked after her cars. 

Edwards outlines government policy, including the rise and fall of borstal, and the continuing injustices of Imprisonment for Public Protection, which was introduced in 2005. The book compellingly explains that IPP was not thought through or planned. Austerity led to the loss of experienced officers at a huge financial cost, and privatising probation services was not a success story. It was one of many bright ideas from the government that failed. 

These chapters on history and policy are interwoven with accounts of cases which explain what is like to work in this field, underscoring the difficulties of representation. A prisoner client had bought a suit for a parole hearing, only to be told to change into a prison tracksuit; wearing a business suit was seen as a security risk. The book also sets out the circumstances in which you can walk arm-in-arm with a judge.

Edwards makes a strong case for proper planning and funding for criminal justice. 

David Pickup is a partner at Pickup & Scott Solicitors, Aylesbury