Explore
Women
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Canada
Women prisoners encounter more difficulties than their male counterparts when it comes to maintaining ties with family and friends. What kind of problems do these women face? What can be done to help them? An interview with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Quebec.
Canada: camping holidays near the prison
Testimonial
France: spectating life on the outside
Testimonial
Europe
Social ties
Rehabilitation
France
Ryan* was incarcerated at Fresnes in April 2019. He stayed there for fourteen months. He speaks about being arrested right in front of his daughter, who was four years old at the time, the sadness of visits, and the difficulty of being far away, of feeling powerless and useless.
Outward Bond
Analysis
Thematic paper
North America
Europe
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Maintaining relationships is often seen more as a means than an end: its status as a basic human right has been erased, and instead the prison service has assigned it a role in reintegration. What are the consequences for prisoners and for their loved ones?
A prison called home
Investigations
Social ties
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
Electronic monitoring allows individuals to serve their sentence at home with their family. In practice, however, the experience of electronic monitoring is a difficult undertaking. Can one’s home become a prison? What impact does surveillance have on their loved ones? Investigation.
Africa
Pre-trial detention
Women
Minors
Foreign prisoners
LGBTQI
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Discipline
Justice
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Suicide
Overcrowding
Torture
Violence
Activities
Social ties
Work
Congo - Brazzaville
All there is to know about Congolese prisons in 2023. Key figures, life in detention, references: discover all the data gathered by Prison Insider.
North America
Activities
Social ties
United States
Missouri Prisons have unleashed a new form of cruelty—banning books sent by friends and family to incarcerated individuals. This is more than just a policy, it’s an attack on freedom and human dignity.
Women
Oceania
Health
Australia
Europe
Mental health
Suicide
Italy
Africa
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Zimbabwe
Former inmates of Zimbabwe’s overburdened prisons say the conditions are inhumane. Activists say government neglect and economic woes are to blame.
North America
Mental health
Torture
United States
The research is clear – it’s bad for prison violence, terrible for inmates and poses increased risks for society.
North America
Minors
Facilities
United States
California’s three remaining youth prisons closed their reinforced steel doors for good today, marking the demise of what was once the nation’s largest network of youth prisons.
Oceania
Torture
Australia
Central America and the Caribbean
Overcrowding
Torture
El Salvador
New rules passed by El Salvador’s congress Wednesday will allow courts to try accused gang members in mass trials, in an effort to expedite tens of thousands of cases for those detained under the country’s crackdown on street gangs.
Norway: bridging the gap
Interview
Europe
Facilities
Social ties
Rehabilitation
Norway
WayBack is a non-profit organisation, whose objective is to help prisoners reintegrate into society. Prison Insider met with Johan Lothe, the director of WayBack Oslo, to discuss his unique perspective on supporting prisoners in their transition to freedom. Interview.
North America
Justice
Facilities
United States
The state cut incarceration in half, while crime plummeted.
Central African Republic: witchcraft
Interview
Africa
Women
Justice
Torture
Central African Republic
Representations of witchcraft are very prevalent in Central African society. The penal code nevertheless criminalises certain practices of witchcraft and charlatanism. The same people are targeted over and over again: women, especially those who are older and isolated. Interview.
Asia
Access to legal rights
Justice
India
In 1972, the Wildlife Protection Act was established to protect wildlife in India. It has led, however, to the criminalisation of an already marginalised part of the population: the forest-dwelling communities. The CPA project told us what this means in practice.
South America
Violence
Ecuador
Kenya: left behind
Interview
Africa
Access to legal rights
Justice
Mental health
Kenya
Misunderstood and excluded by their peers, people with mental health conditions are more likely to end up in prison. Once incarcerated, their ostracization is striking. The NGO Tunawiri addresses this issue by providing training to incarcerated people and prison staff. Interview.