PRI's monthly update of criminal justice news

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Penal Reform International

November 2018 Update

Spotlight:

PRI hosts first regional conference on combatting violent extremism and radicalisation in prisons

Last month, PRI’s office in Central Asia hosted a regional conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to discuss the management of violent extremism and radicalisation in prisons. The conference brought together key stakeholders and experts from five Central Asian countries to share their experiences on effective prison management of violent extremism offenders. The conference provided practitioners with a number of tools to enable them to develop and improve procedures for combatting radicalisation in prison. Taghreed Jaber, PRI’s Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also attended the conference and spoke about the existing rehabilitation programmes and needs assessment tools available in the MENA region.

New report: ICPR releases 12th edition of the World Prison Population list

The Institute for Criminal Policy Research has released the 12th edition of the World Prison Population List, which gives details of the number of prisoners that are held in 223 prison systems in independent countries and dependent territories worldwide. The report reveals that prison populations continue to soar in much of the world, with figures showing that over 11 million people are held in penal institutions globally. The figures in the report include both pre-trial detainees as well as those who have been convicted and sentenced.

The mental health needs of women in prisons can be even higher than that of men in prison, often as a result of violence and trauma. In these instances, community-based sentences can be more effective in reducing reoffending and providing support for people with mental health needs. PRI’s Policy and Programme Manager Olivia Rope recently visited a pilot programme in Northamptonshire, England, which diverts women offenders with mental health needs from prison and towards a community-based sentence. In a new blog, Olivia discusses this programme and community-based sentences as an alternative to the imprisonment of women with mental health needs.

Read it here

News: PRI launches project to renovate the Prison School at Sanaa Central Prison

Last month, PRI’s office in the Middle East and North Africa launched a penitentiary system reform project in Yemen, with the aim of renovating the Prison School at Sanaa Central Prison, in order to meet international human rights standards. The project included the preparation and opening of new classrooms and computer labs with the aim of fighting illiteracy. This project was supported by the Embassy of the Netherland s in Yemen.

New report: Taking Stock: A decade of drug policy

On 21 October 2018, the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), of which PRI is a member, published a new shadow report evaluating the impacts of drug policies across the world over the past decade. In a new blog, PRI’s Policy and Programmes Manager Olivia Rope discusses the report and reflects on the serious impacts that unachievable and harmful drug policies, shaped by the goals of the Political Declaration and Plan of Action of 2009 of a ‘drug-free world’, have had on criminal justice systems across the world.

Last year, researchers from the Open Society Justice Foundation and Amnesty International published a report on Human Rights Violations in Dutch High-Security Prisons in the Context of Counterterrorism. The report revealed a number of serious human rights violations at special detention units in The Netherlands, which hold people suspected and convicted of terrorism offences. In a new expert blog, the report’s authors Jonathan Horowitz and Doutje Lettinga discuss the government’s response to the findings and recommendations of the report a year on. Horowitz and Lettinga also reflect on the urgent reforms that still need to be made and the lessons that can be learnt from their research.

Read it here

Call for information: Deadline extended to 1 December 2018

PRI and the Thailand Institute of Justice are developing guidance on rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for women in prisons to assist with the implementation of the UN Bangkok Rules. PRI are calling for information on rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for women in prisons from a variety of countries and social contexts, and welcome submissions in any language or format. The deadline for submissions has been extended to 1 December 2018.

Click here to read past newsletters or sign-up to our Bangkok Rules newsletter on women in the criminal justice system.

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