The definitive annual guide to the penal system of England and Wales. Since 1995 it has become ‘the bible’ for prisoners, their families, Prison Officers, Prison Governors, Civil Servants, solicitors, barristers, voluntary organisations and indeed for anyone with a personal, professional or academic interest in our prisons.

At 1,600 pages the 2019 edition it’s our BIGGEST and most comprehensive edition ever and, for the first time, it’s now fully updateable online too!

“An incredible reference book on Prisons; I keep a copy in my top drawer and I refer to it frequently” Director General, HM Prison Service.

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Prison Law is a hugely important subject, affecting the rights and liberties of over 83,000 people every single day – yet its sources are spread around a plethora of places from statute, to statutory instruments, prison service orders, prison service instructions, advice to governors, circular instructions, standing orders and the latest versions are called Policy Frameworks….. and that is where Prison Law Index finds its focus because it brings all those sources together within the pages of a single book!

THIRD EDITION – September 2019. From reception to release, The Cell Companion covers legal rights, housing, family, healthcare, personal injury, vulnerable prisoners, and it tackles the difficult issues too – like self-harm, avoiding gangs, extremism, drugs, the dangers of debt, bullying and the real fatal dangers of ‘legal highs’.