From Bishop Hugh Montefiore, chair of Natural Justice
Our charity is concerned with the effects of nutrition on the behaviour of offenders. We are grateful to New Scientist for its positive editorial about our work, and we welcome the discussion in your feature (16 November, p 38).
There are, however, some points to clarify. Natural Justice used only volunteers for its double-blind project at the young offenders institution in Aylesbury. We would never countenance the use of force to improve diet. And the publication of our findings, far from arousing “widespread scepticism”, has so far attracted overwhelmingly positive feedback both from overseas and in Britain.
Our approach to antisocial behaviour has already been adopted by a magistrates’ court and a crown court, and so far appears to be cheap, humane and effective. If our research is replicated, it could have widespread applicability.
London, UK
