In 2003, the U.S. passed a law called the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which for the first time mandated the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) – an arm of the Department of Justice – to conduct anonymous surveys of prisoners about sexual abuse. These surveys have confirmed what reform advocates had long known – that abuse […]
9th November 2016
Last month, the US Department of Justice announced that it would phase out, with a view to ending, its use of private prisons. In this expert blog, David Fathi, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project and a PRI Board Member, gives his predictions for the future involvement of private companies in US […]
26th September 2016
The use of restorative justice with victims of domestic violence is much debated. People point to the dangers of re-victimising the victim. Yet often the victims of domestic violence have few choices – prosecuting the perpetrator or simply putting up with the abuse. In this month’s guest blog for PRI, Dr Marian Liebmann, an international […]
25th August 2016
Following the adoption of the revised UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners – the Nelson Mandela Rules in December, consultations are being held around the world to raise awareness and to seek the views of national policy-makers and prison authorities on implementation. PRI has hosted consultations in Uganda and in India. Last week, it […]
17th August 2016
In April 2016, the National Penitentiary Institute of Peru (INPE) approved a resolution to adopt and implement a new Protocol for the treatment of women prisoners based on the UN Bangkok Rules, one of the first countries to have done so. Maria Eva Dorigo, an independent researcher who worked with the INPE on the Protocol, explains its significance. […]
5th August 2016
Filming live court cases might make justice come to life, but do television cameras in a court room make our justice systems more transparent or improve public understanding of legal proceedings? Dr Ruth Herz, German judge and now visiting professor at Birkbeck School of Law, University of London, took on the role of a ‘TV judge’ […]
27th July 2016
On 22 June it will be ten years since OPCAT – the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture – entered into force. In this expert blog for PRI, Professor Rachel Murray, Director of the Human Rights Implementation Centre at the University of Bristol (UK) asks what impact the treaty has had a decade […]
22nd June 2016
Last week at the UN Crime Commission, delegates and experts gathered at a side-event to discuss how to address the HIV epidemic in prisons. The panel all agreed – to achieve the target under Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Agenda to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 – strong support (including political will and financial […]
2nd June 2016
Migration across borders is changing our prison populations. Lucy Slade has previously worked as a resettlement mentor manager and has volunteered in London prisons where a large proportion of inmates come from outside the UK. At Lucy’s local prison, HMP Wandsworth, around half of the prison’s 1,600 men are foreign, representing over 70 different countries. […]
27th May 2016
Security, prisoner welfare and successful rehabilitation depend to a large degree on well trained prison staff. However, in many countries, the job is low status, badly paid, and recruits receive little training. Prison staffing is the subject of a special feature in PRI’s new Global Prison Trends report. Rob Allen sets out the main points for consideration […]
26th May 2016