In early 2020, as the now-infamous novel coronavirus spread around the world, humankind held its breath. An atmosphere of self- preservation spread as well, as people focused first and foremost on protecting their own health and the health of their loved ones. Death comes for us all, but disease emphasises inequality. Our worried eyes turned towards the most vulnerable and defenceless, as ill treatment observed under normal circumstances becomes more serious and more frequent in times of crisis.
At Prison Insider, the organisation of our work and our planned projects were turned upside down. On 18 March 2020, our little team launched the news feed Coronavirus: Prison Fever. Week after week, by topic and by country, the news feed reports measures taken and the consequences of the pandemic on the living conditions in prison.
A significant amount of time during the first lockdown was dedicated to this urgent work. The shift to remote working was completed across the board thanks to the smooth and efficient actions of the entire staff, from permanent employees to service civique volunteers and interns. The COVID-19 file grew rapidly, a project that would have required a herculean effort if the methodology and network had not already been established ahead of time. The team, a little exhausted, is proud to see the usefulness of the work done.
Prison Insider gained visibility, confirming the public’s interest in our non-partisan, multi-faceted presentation of information. We observed a significant increase in media coverage and our readership starting in April. This continued into autumn with an online press conference and two virtual international conferences.
The restructuring work and the change in scale, initiated in 2020, resulted in new partnerships with the research centre Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London; Amnesty International; the Council of Europe and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. These collaborators all share a common feature: they support and appreciate our actions to monitor, document and publish information on imprisonment conditions across the world.
