While 261,200 children are estimated to be in detention globally, child-specific justice legislation, child-friendly courts and specialised procedures continue to divert children away from the criminal justice system and contribute to a decrease in the number of children in prison in many countries. In this blog, Milana Carse examines teen courts in the US as […]
9th May 2023
The prevalence of mental health conditions among individuals in contact with criminal justice systems is disproportionately high, when compared to the general population. Reductions in community mental health services, coupled with limited capacities within prison and probation services make the provision of mental health support to individuals under supervision a major challenge. In this blog […]
31st January 2023
Global Prison Trends 2022 highlighted severe staffing shortages in prisons and challenges shared across prison systems worldwide in maintaining adequate staffing levels. In the latest blog of our series examining trends identified in the report, Ella Töyrylä, a former prison officer in England, considers the importance of training provided for prison officers for staff retention, […]
23rd November 2022
The proportion of older persons in prison is rising in many countries but their needs are mostly overlooked, leading to human rights violations. In this blog, Claudia Mahler, UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, presents her latest report dedicated to older persons deprived of liberty. On 19 September […]
26th October 2022
Despite universal prohibition, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment continue to be used in places of detention, especially during interrogation or police custody. In this blog, Valentina Cadelo from the Association for the Prevention of Torture presents the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering (the Méndez Principles) – a concrete human rights-based alternative […]
13th October 2022
On 8 – 9 September, PRI joined the International Penal and Penitentiary Foundation (IPPF) 150th anniversary celebrations in Geneva to mark IPPF’s contributions to criminal justice reform. Over the two-day event, PRI staff from Europe, Middle East and North Africa, South Caucasus and Sub-Saharan Africa took part in discussions on challenges and opportunities for supporting […]
26th September 2022
Global Prison Trends 2022 puso de manifiesto un cambio en el consenso internacional hacia las prisiones basadas en la rehabilitación, pero una disparidad significativa entre los países en cuanto a los recursos y la disponibilidad de programas de rehabilitación. En el tercer blog de nuestra serie que examina las tendencias identificadas en el informe, Eduardo […]
2nd September 2022
Global Prison Trends 2022 highlighted a shift in international consensus to rehabilitative-based prisons, but a significant disparity between countries in the resourcing and availability of rehabilitation programming. In the third blog of our series examining trends identified in the report, Eduardo “Coco” Oderigo presents Fundación Espartanos – a programme providing sport, spirituality and education to […]
23rd August 2022
“Around the world, NPM budgets are tiny percentages of overall prison and detention budgets – less than a fraction of a percent” and yet their financial independence is far from guaranteed. In this blog, Ben Buckland from the Association for the Prevention of Torture examines the elements of financial independence for NPMs, and trends and […]
16th August 2022
Global Prison Trends 2022 details progress and setbacks towards abolition of the death penalty over the past year. In the second expert blog of our series examining trends identified in the report, Mai Sato, Director of Eleos Justice at Monash University, considers the role of public opinion as a barrier to abolition and dispells common objections. […]
2nd August 2022