Briefing
This guidance on the revised UN Nelson Mandela Rules is based on the deliberations of a meeting of experts – known informally as the ‘Essex expert group’ – organised by Penal Reform International and the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex in Colchester, UK, on 7-8 April 2016. The paper consists of six chapters covering: Dignity Prison […]
Languages: English
Report
This is the second annual edition in our Global Prison Trends series, describing key global trends in the use and practice of imprisonment and the pressing challenges facing states that wish to organise their penitentiary systems in accordance with international norms and standards. Topics include for example: developments in international criminal justice policy; notable changes to policy at the […]
Languages: English
Report
In December 2015, PRI organised an international roundtable on ‘Preventing Radicalisation in Prisons: Developing a Coordinated and Effective Approach’ hosted by PRI’s MENA regional office in Amman, bringing together 30 participants from 15 countries representing the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Central and South Asia. This report summarises the discussions, covering: drivers for radicalisation in (and […]
Languages: English
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
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
Briefing
How are lawyers affected by defending death penalty cases, where failure means execution? And how do they respond when their clients are killed? This briefing paper, written by Susannah Sheffer and drawing on her book Fighting for their lives, showcases the voices of the lawyers themselves to demonstrate the profound and long-lasting impacts that the […]
Languages: Arabic, English, Russian
Submission
Ahead of the 3rd Intergovernmental Expert Group Meeting (IEGM) on the revision of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR) taking place in Vienna on 25-28 March 2014, PRI together with Essex University submitted this Second Report of the Essex Expert Group on the Review. This report is the outcome of a […]
Languages: English
Briefing
Prison officers come into contact with prisoners on a daily basis and have almost absolute power over detainees who rely on them for their basic needs. The way prison officers perceive their working conditions how they are treated by managers and colleagues has a significant impact on the atmosphere in detention and the treatment of […]
Languages: English, French, Georgian, Russian, Spanish
Report
In many countries, whether driven by political or media pressure for tighter security, a punitive approach to imprisonment, inadequate staff-prisoner ratios or a lack of training on inter-personal skills, de-escalation and mediation, prison management often takes unnecessary or disproportionate recourse to security measures in violation of detainees’ right to dignity. This paper aims to provide […]
Languages: Uzbek, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Tajik