In many countries around the world, criminal justice fines disproportionately affect the poorest and most marginalised in society, effectively creating tiered justice systems. In this blog, Jean Galbraith and Rheem Brooks from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School summarise the findings of new research and discuss what international human rights and criminal justice communities […]
16th October 2023
Punitive drug policies are a key driver of criminalisation and imprisonment worldwide, with drug offences accounting for 22% of the global prison population. In this blog, Ann Fordham, Executive Director of the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), considers a groundbreaking report on the human rights impact of the ‘war on drugs’. This article was originally […]
4th October 2023
In July 2023, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights presented its first ever report detailing the scale and situation of women deprived of liberty in the Americas. In this blog, Coletta Youngers considers its findings and their importance for efforts to reduce women’s incarceration across the region. This article was originally published by WOLA (Washington […]
16th August 2023
En julio de 2023, la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos presentó su primer informe sobre la magnitud y la situación de las mujeres privadas de libertad en las Américas. En este blog, Coletta Youngers analiza sus conclusiones y su importancia para los esfuerzos por reducir el encarcelamiento de mujeres en toda la región. Este artículo […]
16th August 2023
Pre-trial detention contributes significantly to prison overcrowding and causes a range of harms to individuals, their familes, and society. But what is driving its use? In this blog, Madhurima Dhanuka from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative presents the findings of a recent report and explores the disproportionate impact of pre-trial detention on poor and marginalised […]
26th June 2023
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