The inquiry into the National DNA Database by the Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons, which was published on Monday, comes after much of the ‘inquiring’ - including by

Ten years ago, the Home Affairs Committee’s Special Report on Drugs and Prisons made a series of recommendations that are still being ignored by the Ministry of Justice.

Ten of thousands of people are remanded in custody every year while they await trial. But when they come to court, a high proportion walk free.

Prisoners held on remand while awaiting trial can at least console themselves that if found guilty, their time on remand will count towards their sentence. But there is no such consolation for those found not guilty, or found guilty but given a non-custodial sentence.

In spite of the rising toll of the war in Afghanistan, fewer military inquests are being held.

How smart have prisons in England and Wales been in using the information gained from mandatory drug testing? And which prisons have done better than others?

Recent parliamentary answers to astute questions from Andrew Pelling MP have provided a means of assessing the progress of the Prison Service’s Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS). 

The Government’s drug testing programme in prisons is distorted by perverse incentives, and fails to make the best use of the data collected.

More British soldiers are dying in Afghanistan - but the number of inquests held into their deaths has halved, in spite of Government promises of extra resources. Why?

Britain’s jails are full, but are they full of the right people? A huge number are on remand – and are subsequently found not guilty of the charges on which they were remanded.