On Nelson Mandela International Day – the second since the UN agreed the revised set of Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules – Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, explains how HMI Prisons has incorporated the Rules into their latest edition of Expectations, which sets out the detailed criteria used to inspect […]
18th July 2017
Throughout the world, probation systems and community-based sentences have been designed for men and by men. Little focus has been given to the differing needs and experiences of women, and therefore the processes, tools and guidance have not fairly or adequately served women offenders. Omar Phoenix Khan of Justice Focus evaluated PRI’s pilot project to […]
17th July 2017
Last month, PRI published the third report in its annual flagship series, Global Prison Trends 2017, which identifies topical developments and challenges in criminal justice and prison policy and practice over the past 12 months. The report included a Special Focus section which looks at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in relation to criminal justice. To mark […]
11th July 2017
Prison populations have a disproportionately high rate of people suffering with mental health or behavioural problems. In a new report, Dr Marayca López and Laura Maiello-Reidy of CGL Companies, LLC, a pre-eminent criminal justice planning and design firm based in New York, explain how prison design can significantly improve the living conditions of mentally ill prisoners. They […]
28th June 2017
Torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are prohibited in numerous international human rights instruments, but when do conditions of incarceration – such as overcrowding – cross the boundary from acceptable into ‘cruel or inhuman’ or even ‘torture’? ‘All too frequently…the prison may be overcrowded, even to the point of […]
7th June 2017
Last week, governments gathered in Vienna for the 26th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ). Marie Nougier, Senior Communications and Information Officer at the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), describes the outcome of a side event organised by the IDPC, PRI and the government of Costa Rica to link the UNGASS outcomes with […]
1st June 2017
Prisons – by definition – are secure institutions. Shifting philosophies of punishment underpin approaches to security and safety. The mobility, behaviour and activities of those imprisoned are controlled by carceral architecture and structured schedules with policy, practice and personnel reinforcing the custodial demands of imprisonment. Such procedures are designed to prevent escapes and maintain ‘control’ […]
25th May 2017
Social franchises are increasingly being used and recognised as a tool to quickly and effectively create sustainable impact. But their potential to support probation and reintegration of former prisoners has not yet been fully explored. We take a look at what social franchises, penal systems and sanitary towels have in common. “In several African countries […]
8th May 2017
It is now widely acknowledged that armed conflict particularly and uniquely impacts women, and there is political commitment to address this, notably in the Women, Peace and Security agenda. In this expert blog, Andrea Huber of PRI and Therese Rytter of DIGNITY, the Danish Institute Against Torture, examine how international law on the prohibition of […]
18th April 2017
A recent Supreme Court judgment in the US is being hailed as a triumph by death penalty abolition advocates. Moore v. Texas has enforced the prohibition against the execution of intellectually disabled defendants, by ruling against the state of Texas’ outdated methods of assessing intellectual disabilities – that were based on ‘stereotypes, fears, or myths’. […]
6th April 2017