The UK High Court has ruled that a blanket ban on prisoners’ access to books was unlawful. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling introduced Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 30/2013 which amended the Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme (IEP), to restrict prisoners’ access to books. The High Court found that the effect of the policy was contrary to its stated intention, and so found it to be unlawful. The rules had been roundly criticised by authors and campaigners for being solely punitive and for ignoring the rehabilitative effects of prisoners’ access to books.
PSI 30/2013 created a system of levels, making prisoners subject to a mandatory cash allowance level, which included both the prisoner’s earnings and money from friends or relatives. The rules also provided that items such as books could not otherwise be handed in or sent in to prisoners and treated them as a privilege. The claimant in the case holds a doctorate in English literature and the judge found that the rules were particularly harsh on her because of her love of books and her desire to access books not easily obtainable through the prison library.
The Secretary for State for Justice recognised the importance of access to books and submitted that the intention of the policy was not to prevent or interfere unreasonably with prisoners being able to have access to books. So the question for the High Court was whether or not it amounted to an effective ban on reasonable possession of books by prisoners. Justice Collins held that the rules resulted in a severe restriction on possession or acquisition of books by prisoners, and therefore the scheme, insofar as it included books, was unlawful.
As of 15 December, the Ministry of Justice have opted not to appeal the decision, but for administrative reasons will not be removing restrictions on parcels until February 2015.
Click here to read the full judgment of R (Gordon-Jones) v Secretary for State for Justice and Governor of HM Prison [2014] EWHC 3997 (Admin)