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Penal Reform International

January 2019 Update 

      

Spotlight:

Developing Restorative Justice in law, policy and practice
PRI’s Global Prison Trends 2018 publication reported on the growing trend of Restorative Justice as well as the barriers to its acceptance and implementation. Restorative justice is a practice in which the person(s) who were harmed by a crime, and those who were responsible for that harm, are brought into communication. The purpose of restorative justice is to enable the people who hold a stake in the outcome of an offence to play a part in repairing the harm and finding a positive way forward. In a new expert blog for PRI, Dr. Ian Marder of the Maynooth University, Ireland discusses the implementation of restorative justice in some key jurisdictions, focusing on their legislation, policies and models of service provision.
Read it here

News: Central African Republic PM endorses MINUSCA and PRI policy briefing 
On 9 January, the Prime Minister of the Central African Republic endorsed three policy documents that are essential to the demilitarisation and reform of prisons in the Central African Republic. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission In The Central African Republic (MINUSCA) Justice and Corrections Section partnered with Penal Reform International to develop the demilitarisation strategy, in collaboration with national stakeholders.  
Read more

External resource: Alternatives to detention for juvenile offenders 
International standards outline that the detention of children must be a measure of last resort. Community-based sanctions and other alternatives to detention must be put in place to ensure that children are diverted away from offending and from criminal justice systems. This resource  examines measures and programmes that minimise the use of detention for children in various EU member states. 
Read it here

News: PRI conducts workshops for Algerian prison administration
PRI’s office in the Middle East and North Africa conducted a 5-day workshop in collaboration with the Directorate General of the Prison Administration and Reintegration in Algeria (DGAPR), as part of PRI-MENA’s project to mainstream a human rights-based approach in the administration of the criminal justice system in Algeria. 
View more (Arabic only)

News: PRI co-hosts international civil society strategy forum on life imprisonment 
Last month, Penal Reform International and the University of Nottingham organised an international civil society strategy forum on life imprisonment, which took place in London from 11–12 December 2018. The two-day forum brought together key civil society actors, stakeholders from academic institutions and practitioners from around the world to develop a strategy on how to tackle the increased use of life imprisonment globally.
Read more

News: In-cell phones for more UK  prisons 
Last month, the UK Justice Secretary announced that in-cell phones, currently installed in 20 prisons in England and Wales, will be rolled-out to 50 prisons by March 2020. The government have said in-cell phones are intended principally to help people in prison maintain contact with their families as family ties are a vital part of rehabilitation, and ultimately help to cut the number of future crimes.
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News: New initiative to combat torture in Bishkek police station 

Last month, PRI's office in Central Asia and the Kyrgyzstan Interior Minister opened the first transparent interviewing rooms in the Sverdlovsk District Police station in Bishkek in a move to eradicate torture in police interviewing rooms, and to establish a new rights-based approach in conducting investigations. 
Read more
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