Blog

Featured Blog

The shadow code: How informal prison hierarchy undermines human dignity across post-Soviet prisons

In this expert blog, PRI’s Tinatin Uplisashvili explores the persistence of informal prison hierarchies across post-Soviet penitentiary systems, structures that continue to shape prison life through violence, social exclusion and informal authority. Drawing on recent reports by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and long-standing documentation from multiple countries, the blog analyses how […]

Tinatin Uplisashvili22nd July 2025

Featured Blog

Behind bars, beyond justice: confronting corruption in the prison system

In this expert blog for Penal Reform International, Sofie Arjon Schütte analyses the phenomenon of corruption in prisons, fuelled by severe power imbalances, limited oversight, and widespread overcrowding, creating conditions ripe for bribery, extortion, and abuse – particularly against vulnerable groups.

Sofie Arjon Schütte15th July 2025

Featured Blog

Carceral hope: Life sentences, ageing, and the ethics of possibility 

In this expert blog for Penal Reform International, Dr Marion Vannier and Dr Helen Gair from the University of Manchester explore how hope is imagined, experienced and transformed within the context of life imprisonment.

Helen Gair and Marion Vannier5th June 2025

Insights on security and violence in European prisons

Violence in European prisons is rising, driven by overcrowding, staff shortages, and organised crime. This blog explores trends, data practices, and reforms needed for humane, rehabilitative and secure prison systems.

Jérôme Mangelinckx 2nd April 2025

Beyond capacity: Europe’s prison overcrowding challenge

Discover how European prisons navigate overcrowding. This blog explores disparities, impacts, and innovative reforms, drawing on 2024 data and insights from PRI’s Global Prison Trends series.

Idil Aydinoglu11th December 2024

Growth – an emerging new philosophy, to transform culture in detention

Figure 1: Principles of Growth Wheel    In this blog written for PRI, the authors Makayla Agyemang and Dr Sarah Lewis from UK-based Penal Reform Solutions, present the “Growth Project” that they have implemented in English prisons to foster rehabilitative relationships between people detained and staff in prison facilities. The project is based on Dr […]

Sarah Lewis, Makayla Agyemang14th February 2024

Nature-based detention houses

In a context of climate crisis and rising costs, prisons, like all institutions, must take action to be more sustainable and minimise impact on the environment. In this blog, Wiep Fokker from Restorative Justice Netherlands makes the case for nature-based detention houses as an ecologically sustainable model for penal reform. The climate and biodiversity crisis […]

Wiep Fokker24th October 2023

A rare assessment of the penal system in North Korea

Due to extreme secrecy and opacity in official information, very little is known about the penal system in North Korea. As the Human Rights Council considers the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the European Parliament condemns the human rights situation in […]

Hae Ju Kang20th April 2022

Prisons and food: From in-cell eating and meal-lines to collective and domestic kitchens

People in prison lose autonomy and agency over many aspects of their lives, usually including food production and consumption. In this blog, Sabrina Puddu examines the different approaches taken to food in prisons, looking at trends from eating alone in cells, to dining halls, and collective and domestic style kitchens. Collective kitchens are witnessing a […]

Sabrina Puddu2nd June 2021

Healing-centered justice: ending extreme sentencing of women

In the fourth blog of our series marking the tenth anniversary of the UN Bangkok Rules, Laura Ann Douglas examines extreme sentencing of women - what is driving the increase, what impact it has on the women serving these sentences, and how the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide and its partners are working with women who have served extreme sentences to advocate for healing-centered justice.

Laura Ann Douglas31st March 2021

Covid-19 in prisons: why prioritising staff and prison populations for vaccination matters

Distribution of Covid-19 vaccines should be guided by evidence and based on the principle of harm reduction. In this blog, experts from the University of Oxford consider why prison populations and staff should be prioritised in national vaccination programmes, what is happening so far and the challenges to their inclusion in some places. Prisons have […]

Gabrielle Beaudry, Daniel Whiting and Seena Fazel18th February 2021

Period poverty in prisons: ensuring menstrual hygiene and dignity in India

In this expert blog, Anju Anna John considers menstrual hygiene provision for women in prison and interventions to assess needs, raise awareness of women’s entitlements and best practices, and improve access to sanitary products in places of detention. This is the third blog in PRI’s latest series marking ten years of the UN Bangkok Rules. […]

Anju Anna John16th February 2021