Briefing
How are prison officers affected by overseeing prisoners on death row or even participating in executions? What effects does it have in the short and the longer term? This short paper draws on research and interviews with prison guards to outline the psychological impact that guards who have worked with prisoners for many years on death row […]
Languages: English
Multimedia
Sentencing trends … prison technology – opportunities and threats … architectural design and offender rehabilitation. A special podcast to accompany our new Global Prison Trends report. Guests include: Alison Hannah (PRI Executive Director) Bryan Stevenson (Director of the Equal Justice Initiative and PRI Board Member) Dr Marayca López (US corrections analyst and justice planner) Rob Allen (criminal […]
Languages: English
Briefing
This article outlines aspects of discrimination faced by female suspects, defendants and prisoners in criminal justice systems, their number, profile and characteristics, and the offences they are typically charged with or convicted for. It covers certain key conditions in detention as well as programmes in place for rehabilitation and reintegration. It draws on data, country […]
Languages: English
Report
This report is designed to describe key global trends in the use and practice of imprisonment and to identify some of the pressing challenges facing states that wish to organise their penitentiary system in accordance with international norms and standards. Topics include: Prison populations and rates of imprisonment Prison management Prison regimes New technologies Criminal justice, social policy and […]
Languages: English
Multimedia
Many jurisdictions permit prison councils involving both prisoners and staff to have input into the way that prisons are run. In this penultimate blog in our year-long series, Kimmett Edgar, Head of Research at the UK charity, the Prison Reform Trust, says that self-advocacy roles for prisoners have a wide range of benefits. Service provision can be better informed […]
Languages: English
Report
A short guide to the fundamental issues and arguments linked to introduction of alternative sanctions following abolition of the death penalty. It reviews current trends in the application of long-term and life imprisonment, highlighting relevant international and regional human rights standards and provides examples of good practice. Topics covered include: Current practices worldwide regarding alternatives to […]
Languages: English, French, Russian
Multimedia
Prisons are precisely the sort of environment where you might think that corruption would easily develop and prosper, which is why it is perhaps surprising that relatively little has been done so far to tackle it. In the ninth of our expert blog series, former UK prison governor and criminal justice expert, John Podmore, says […]
Languages: English
Multimedia
The number of older prisoners in prison populations is growing in many countries, in part due to ageing populations and often in part to punitive sentencing policies. However, older prisoners are more likely than their peers in the community to be disabled, to have multiple, costly chronic health conditions, and experience age-related cognitive impairments including […]
Languages: English
Report
While the global trend is towards abolition of the death penalty altogether, where it is still applied international law, jurisprudence and practice require that certain minimum standards are applied. How can we strengthen these international minimum standards on the application of the death penalty? PRI’s new study examines recent developments nationally, regionally and internationally and […]
Languages: English
Annual Report
PRI’s Strategic Plan 2015-2020 sets out PRI’s objectives for the next five years. The outcomes we want to achieve through out programmes are A criminal justice system that respects the rule of law, upholds the rights of suspects and defendants and prevents the unnecessary use of pre-trial detention. Fair and proportionate sentencing that takes account […]
Languages: English