Blog

Radicalisation and de-radicalisation in prison – what should we do with violent extremist offenders?

In the second blog in our anniversary series, Dr Shane Bryans, a former UK prison governor and criminal justice expert, who has worked on prison-based de-radicalisation programmes in a number of countries, examines how prison administrations can manage violent extremist offenders.  Countries on every continent are facing the challenge of managing Violent Extremist Offenders (VEOs) within their prison systems. Preventing them […]

Shane Bryans25th June 2014

When will the tide turn in prison politics? Global prison trends

PRI’s Policy Director, Andrea Huber, looks at the some of the major trends – national, international, the good, the bad and the ugly – in criminal justice and penal policy over the last few years. This blog was first published by the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex. If there is a criminal […]

Andrea Huber11th June 2014

Development of prison legislation in Central Asia: trends and challenges

Alison Hannah, PRI’s Executive Director reports from a regional conference in Kazakhstan on the development of prison legislation in Central Asia. In England and Wales, prisons are reaching crisis point. According to a recent report there are only 265 free prison places out of the 85,800 prison estate capacity. Emergency measures may be needed to […]

Alison Hannah18th March 2014

Crime and punishment with Anthony Doob

Professor Anthony Doob is one of the three-most cited scholars in Canada and one of the top 25 most-cited scholars worldwide. He is renowned for his insights into Canada’s youth justice system, sentencing and imprisonment and for his influence on policy. He will be giving a lecture at the University of Toronto on 6 February […]

PRI Admin5th February 2014

PRI and BLAST in Bangladesh: prospects and priorities for reform

PRI’s Programme Development Director, Nikhil Roy, recently visited Bangladesh and spoke at a roundtable discussion on Probation as an Alternative to Imprisonment: Legal Framework and Current Practice, organised jointly by PRI and our partner in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST). Here Mubinul Mulk, BLAST Research Associate and Nikhil discuss the prospects […]

Nikhil Roy29th January 2014

An end of year message from Alison Hannah, PRI’s Executive Director

Every day about 20 news stories pop in my email inbox, giving the latest headlines from around the world on prison and penal issues. Over the past couple of days, these include: ‘Epidemic of self-mutilation’ in women’s prisons in England and Wales’ ‘Inmates need needle-exchange programs and better access to HIV treatment: study’ (Canada) ‘Anti-torture […]

Alison Hannah18th December 2013

Prisons: “the most critical area of human rights in a civilised society”

Today – Human Rights Day (10 December 2013) – is a chance for organisations around the world to draw attention to both the continuing violations of peoples’ rights and the positive steps being made in protecting and respecting them. So it is appropriate that today PRI is in Kolkata, India, conducting a training of trainers’ workshop […]

Becky Randel10th December 2013

Sharing probation practice (and theory) from around the globe

On 9-10 October, three representatives of PRI – Nikhil Roy, Jenny Clarkin and myself – attended the first ever World Congress on Probation. Organised by the European Organisation for Probation (CEP) and hosted in London, the Congress welcomed over 300 delegates from 50 countries. It was a packed agenda and even documenting the highlights here […]

Becky Randel11th October 2013

Identifying trends in prison policy across the Asia-Pacific region

Responding to an invitation to participate in the 33rd Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA), from the office of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, I arrived in New Delhi on the morning of Tuesday 24th October in time for the formal opening of the Conference. The opening session included a […]

Nikhil Roy3rd October 2013

How to process Eric Holder’s major criminal law reform speech: views from ACLU

Laura W. Murphy, Director, of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Washington Legislative Office & Vanita Gupta, Center for Justice respond to US Attorney General’s call for major criminal justice reform, including an end to mandatory minimums for certain low-level, non-violent drug offences. Attorney General Eric Holder just called mass incarceration a moral and economic failure. He just […]

PRI Admin14th August 2013