BOOKS: PAPERBACKS; Hard cases at the bar

PRISONERS & THE LAW by Simon Creighton & Vicky King Butterworth pounds 35

This is not the first book that has attempted to make sense of the legislation which regulates our prisons, but it covers statute and case law with a dexterity and clarity impossible to fault. More importantly, it is aimed as much at prisoners as lawyers and, without doubt, it is the single most important practical legal textbook on prisons to be published in the last 20 years.

Prior to the riot at Hull maximum security prison, in August 1976, there had been very few cases brought before the courts by prisoners. Lord Denning, in his infamous and now discarded reasoning in Becker v Home Office (1970), argued that if the courts entertained "actions by disgruntled prisoners", it would make the Governer's life "intolerable".

The Hull Riot was unique in its ferocity, and eight prison officers were later convicted at York Crown Court of assaulting prisoners. More importantly, the Hull Riot was a watershed in penal case law: eight of the rioting prisoners, led by the Canadian Ronald St Germain, challenged the prison disciplinary system in the courts for the first time and won.

The landmark case of St Germain set in train a growing willingness by the courts to intervene in prison life: in 1984, one Court of Appeal judge said the scope of prisoners' legal challenges was "expanding at the rate of the Universe". Since St Germain's action, the courts have determined - and helped to reform - such issues as disciplinary transfers, segregation, medical consent, correspondence, visiting rights, legal communications, racial discrimination and parole, to name but a few.

If prison case law is difficult to unravel, as a result of the plethora of challenges the courts have dealt with, then the statutory framework of rules, circulars, advice and instructions to Governors that hides behind the day-to-day management of our prisons is a nightmare.

Creighton and King have succeeded in clearly charting this complex area, drawing on their background in London's Prisoners Advice Service. In addition to the Prison Act 1952, the Prison Rules 1964 and the YOI Rules 1988, the book also carries the text of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Prisoners & The Law is more than a textbook on prisons, however, as Edward Fitzgerald QC points out in the Foreword: "It places important emphasis on such neglected areas as how the allocation and classification system works, how the complaints system works, and how to make effective representations for parole. It also is the first book to deal with such recent developments as the privatisation system, the new privilege system, the new restrictive system for granting home-leave ... and the special problems of minority groups such as imprisoned mothers with babies, young offenders, prisoners who have been repatriated or extradited to this country and prisoners with special medical needs such as those who are HIV positive."

Creighton and King have, commendably, addressed the prisoner on the landing as well as the solicitor in his office. This is crucial: unless the individual prisoner recognises that he has a legal remedy in a particular set of circumstances, the chances of a solicitor ever getting involved in the case must be remote.

The one fault with this superb book is its price. At pounds 35 it represents almost two months' wages for an average prisoner. Why it should be priced completely beyond the reach of its intended market defies explanation. It makes the whole exercise seem sadly superfluous.

Mark Leech is an ex-prisoner, and editor of 'The Prisoner's Handbook', OUP pounds 30/pounds 10.99