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Olivia Rope delivers keynote address at ICPA Annual Conference 2023

The International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA) Annual Conference 2023 is taking place this week in Antwerp, Belgium, from 22-27 October 2023, hosted by the Belgian Prison Service. The theme of the conference is “Humane Corrections: What more can we do“, reflecting the need for a more humane approach to corrections and to identify new and […]

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PRI brings together experts in a roundtable on Roma and non-custodial sanctions

On 7 March 2023, PRI hosted a multi-stakeholder regional roundtable in Brussels to discuss and address problems faced by Roma in European criminal justice systems, especially within the context of implementing non-custodial sanctions and measures. The roundtable discussions benefitted from the expertise and perspective of criminal justice practitioners from seven European countries as well as […]

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New PRI project tackles violence against children in detention in Europe

Next month (March 2023) PRI is embarking on a new project under PRI’s Europe programme to improve monitoring and addressing of violence against children in detention in the EU. Funded by the European Commission’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, the Data for Monitoring the Safety of Imprisoned Children – Data MOSAIC project will […]

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Training in Hungary on non-discrimination in community-based sanctions

On 16-18 November, a diverse group of nearly 70 Hungarian criminal justice stakeholders gathered in Budapest for training workshops and knowledge sharing delivered as part of PRI’s ongoing work in Europe. Led by our partners at the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the three-day event included presentations on international standards, good practices, experiences and considerations of specific […]

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“The system is just not ready” – Promoting alternatives to imprisonment in Hungary

Is strict penal policy good? What can the Hungarian criminal justice system learn from other countries’ use of non-custodial sanctions? Would the introduction of sentencing guidelines change practice and reduce discrimination? Why are available non-custodial sanctions not used more? How can we address common barriers to better use of community-based sanctions? What can we do […]

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Criminal justice stakeholders come together for improved non-custodial sanctions in Portugal

As part of ongoing work in Europe, PRI traveled to Coimbra, Portugal on 4 and 5 November to meet with criminal justice stakeholders and our partner the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra for discussions on ways to make non-custodial sanctions and measures in the country more readily available for all, supporting flexibility, responsivity and fairness in their use and implementation, also in times of crises such as the […]

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PRI at the 14th UN Crime Congress

The rescheduled 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice will be held from 7 – 12 March 2021 in Kyoto, Japan under the overall theme “Advancing crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law: towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda”. The UN ‘Crime Congress’, held once every five years since 1955, […]

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Winners of the ‘Capstone Project’ research competition announced

Finalists of the ‘Capstone Project’ research competition, implemented by Penal Reform International (PRI) with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kazakhstan, presented their research projects on 14 July 2020. This year, due to the COVID-19 related restrictions in Kazakhstan, students of M.Utemissov West Kazakhstan State University presented their research […]

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People in detention are forgotten or ignored in COVID-19 responses, says new PRI briefing

A new briefing, Coronavirus: Preventing harm and human rights violations in criminal justice systems, highlights the impact of responses to COVID-19 on people in detention – amounting to 11 million people – who have been left behind, ignored or forgotten. Penal Reform International exposes a lack of systematic testing and data collection in prisons across the globe, which means unknown numbers of people in detention and staff are falling ill and dying […]