The Howard League for Penal Reform (the Howard League) is a charitable organization based in London, United Kingdom which advocates for changes to the criminal justice system through research, litigation, advocacy, and policy work. It supports shorter prison sentences, elimination of prison sentences for non-violent crimes, community service sentences as an alternative to prison, elimination of bail, and investments in community services that it claims would help to prevent crime. ¹ It is funded by donations and membership subscriptions. ²

Background

Howard League for Penal Reform is a charitable organization located in London, United Kingdom, which advocates for changes in the prison system through research, litigation, advocacy, and policy work. It was founded in 1866 as “the Howard Association,” named after John Howard, an 18th-century prison reform advocate. In 1921 it merged with the Penal Reform League and was renamed Howard League for Penal Reform. ³ It claims to be the “world’s oldest prison charity.” ⁴

The Howard League advocates for rehabilitation rather than imprisonment, reserving imprisonment “as a punishment of last resort.” ⁵ According to chief executive Andrea Coomber, “Our prisons have a lot of people in them that don’t need to be there.” ⁶

The Howard League is a membership organization. Membership provides input to the organization, supports fundraising, and provides the numbers to create strength in its advocacy. ⁷ It offers free memberships to people in prison, those who were previously imprisoned, and families of those in prison. ⁸

Work Areas and Policies

The Howard League addresses prison reform through litigation, advocacy, research, and policy work. ⁹

Its litigation focuses on young people and children in custody. In 2023, the Howard League won a 7-year legal suit against the government on behalf of a 15-year-old boy who was kept in solitary confinement for almost two months. ¹⁰

In 2020, the U.K. Ministry of Justice selected a private firm to run a new prison. Frances Crook, the Howard League’s former chief director, argued that the country needed to “invest in jobs and the nation’s health” rather than expanding prisons. ¹¹

In August 2024, communications director Rob Preece claimed that the criminal justice system is making prison sentences longer and longer, causing the growth in the prison population. He indicated that the country should be investing in hospitals, schools, jobs, and “things that stop crime before it happens.” ¹²

As part of its research, the Howard League publishes weekly prison watch data on the prison population in support of its concern for prison overcrowding. ^{13 14}

The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice is an academic journal published by the Howard League and available to members. It was established in 1921 as the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice and was updated in 2015. ¹⁵

A July 2024 briefing published by Howard League indicates that the prison system in England and Wales is over capacity due to longer prison sentences and a court backlog causing a larger number of people to wait for trial or sentencing in prison. It recommends that legislation that would release prisoners at the 40 percent-completion mark of their sentence as an initial step to reducing the prison population. ¹⁶

Additional briefing recommendations included the elimination of prison sentences for non-violent crimes and the elimination of post-sentence supervision for those with short prison sentences. It supports the use of home detention curfews and a reduction in the use of bail. As an alternative to prison, the Howard League supports community sentences in place of short prison sentences and an expansion of mental health and addiction services to support early intervention. It recommends that investments in education, health care, employment, benefits, and housing would help keep people out of prison. ¹⁷

Five-Year Strategy

The Howard League developed a 2023 through 2028 strategy that describes its future focus areas as campaigning against imprisonment, working with politicians to identify policy alternatives to imprisonment, leveraging litigation to challenge “injustices and human rights violations in prison,” and educating the public to support and advocate for policy changes. ¹⁸

Funding

The Howard League’s annual report for the year ended May 31, 2023 showed total income of $1,806,223 and $2,347,638 in total expenses (converted from pounds sterling at late 2024 exchange rates). The majority of funding comes from trust and foundation grants. Staff costs are the largest expense, accounting for 71 percent of the total costs of the organization. ¹⁹

Leadership

The Howard League is governed by a board of directors and a senior management team. ²⁰

Andrea Coomber was appointed chief executive of the Howard League in June 2021. Coomber is an attorney who has held several senior positions at human rights organizations in the United Kingdom and other countries. Prior to joining the Howard League, she was director of JUSTICE, a law reform charity in the United Kingdom focused on left-of-center issues related to the justice system. ^{21 22}

1. Grasping the nettle: Options for a lasting solution to the prison capacity crisis. Howard League for Penal Reform. July 10, 2024. Accessed August 28, 2024. https://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Grasping-the-nettle-Options-for-a-lasting-solution-to-the-prison-capacity-crisis-.pdf
2. LinkedIn – The Howard League for Penal Reform. Accessed August 30, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-howard-league-for-penal-reform/
3. “Our Journey.” Howard League for Penal Reform. Accessed August 28, 2024. https://howardleague.org/our-journey/
4. “About Us.” Howard League for Penal Reform. Accessed August 29, 2024. https://howardleague.org/about-us/
5. Howard League for Penal Reform Report and financial statements for the year ended 1 May 2023. Accessed August 29, 2024. https://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A200-HLPR-Annual-report-and-financial-statement-Charity-Commission.pdf
6. James Hockaday. “Labour has ‘no choice’ but to free prisoners who’ve served 40% of sentence, charity says.” Yahoo! News. July 9, 2024. Accessed August 28, 2024. https://www.yahoo.com/news/labour-free-thousands-of-prisoners-early-104656279.html
7. Howard League for Penal Reform Report and financial statements for the year ended 1 May 2023. Accessed August 29, 2024. https://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A200-HLPR-Annual-report-and-financial-statement-Charity-Commission.pdf
8. “Join.” Howard League for Penal Reform. Accessed August 30, 2024. https://howardleague.org/membership/
9. “Our Work.” Howard League for Penal Reform. Accessed August 30, 2024. https://howardleague.org/our-work/
10. Helen Pidd. “Boy kept in solitary confinement wins 31,500 payout.” The Guardian. December 18, 2023. Accessed August 30, 2024. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/18/boy-kept-in-solitary-confinement-wins-31500-pound-payout
11. Danny Shaw. “G4S selected to run Wellingborough ‘mega prison.’” BBC. July 9, 2020. Accessed August 30, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-53353915
12. “Prison reform charity responds to emergency measures.” ITN. Yahoo! News. August 19, 2024. Accessed August 30, 2024. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/prison-reform-charity-responds-emergency-132847244.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAArFNiVdry-Iu8_sBDKORZ7u_GcnxnsWJv4iOUO_T2oNAbvjZ6ZLXrpjs22sO1yVFxzl_5VbqMumXRwfwRl4Tsn_BA9YgS_cHzoBJtPVhHQfa0LUziv5LqMCzgwiwKrzdMh1Uq81GFS36MpDEi_eNJrJnQ5jJukFUokW_cd4Nwyc
13. “Prison watch.” Howard League or Penal Reform. Accessed August 30, 2024. https://howardleague.org/prison-watch/
14. Samantha Dulieu. “Record prison overcrowding ‘an embarrassment for UK.’” The Justice Gap. September 6, 2023. Accessed August 30, 2024. https://www.thejusticegap.com/record-prison-overcrowding-an-embarrassment-for-uk/
15. “The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice – new title, new editor, new direction.” Howard League for Penal Reform. September 16, 2015. Accessed August 29, 2024. https://howardleague.org/news/howardjournalofcrimeandjustice/
16. Grasping the nettle: Options for a lasting solution to the prison capacity crisis. Howard League for Penal Reform. July 10, 2024. Accessed August 28, 2024. https://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Grasping-the-nettle-Options-for-a-lasting-solution-to-the-prison-capacity-crisis-.pdf
17. Grasping the nettle: Options for a lasting solution to the prison capacity crisis. Howard League for Penal Reform. July 10, 2024. Accessed August 28, 2024. https://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Grasping-the-nettle-Options-for-a-lasting-solution-to-the-prison-capacity-crisis-.pdf
18. 2023 – 2028 Strategy. Howard League for Penal Reform. Published November 2023. Accessed August 29, 2024. https://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Howard-League-for-Penal-Reform-2023-to-2028-strategy.pdf
19. Howard League for Penal Reform Report and financial statements for the year ended 1 May 2023. Accessed August 29, 2024. https://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A200-HLPR-Annual-report-and-financial-statement-Charity-Commission.pdf
20. Howard League for Penal Reform Report and financial statements for the year ended 1 May 2023. Accessed August 29, 2024. https://howardleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A200-HLPR-Annual-report-and-financial-statement-Charity-Commission.pdf
21. Justice homepage. Accessed August 30, 2024. https://justice.org.uk/
22. Rob Preece. “Andrea Coomber appointed Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform” Howard League for Penal Reform. June 29, 2021. Accessed August 30, 2024. https://howardleague.org/news/andrea-coomber-appointed-chief-executive-of-the-howard-league-for-penal-reform/