Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

February 25, 2019

Singapore: how Changi Prison is taking to video analytics and facial recognition in a big way

News

Asia Singapore

Prison surveillance is going high-tech with smart systems that could help officers be more aware of inmates’ behaviours as part of moves to transform operations.

February 24, 2019

France : nouvelle hausse du nombre des détenus au 1er février

News

Europe France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

February 23, 2019

Belgium: 447 décès en prison en 8 ans: des prisonniers à la santé précaire

News

Europe Health Violence Belgium

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

February 21, 2019

France : Liberté conditionnelle pour bâtir au plus vite des places de prison

News

Europe Justice France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

February 20, 2019

France : "c'est une prison sans barreaux"

News

Europe France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

February 19, 2019

USA: One of America's harshest isolation units was exposed by a desperate, handwritten account from the inside

News

Discipline United States

A Georgia solitary confinement unit was filled with the “cacophony of prisoner screams and cries for help,” a prisons expert said after visiting.

February 19, 2019

USA: Gangs, lack of guards spark teen riot at understaffed Texas juvenile prison

News

United States

Spurred by boredom, gang conflicts and anger over a lack of guards, teens at a North Texas juvenile prison rioted for six days, assaulting officers and each other during a mass disturbance that boiled over during a football game.

February 19, 2019

Turkey: les peines de prison de journalistes du quotidien d’opposition Cumhuriyet confirmées en appel

News

Europe Turkey

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

February 19, 2019

France : les “mardis noirs” des gardiens de prison

News

Europe France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

February 19, 2019

France : le défi du suivi des "radicalisés" et des "revenants" hors des prisons

News

Europe Facilities Religion France

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

February 18, 2019

‘Mexico’s Alcatraz’ prison to be turned into a cultural centre

News

Central America and the Caribbean Mexico

Hundreds of inmates will be transferred to make way for Walls of Water arts venue. Mexico is to close one of the world’s last remaining prison islands and turn it into a cultural centre named for a communist writer once held there.

February 18, 2019

UK: ‘Prison isn’t working’

News

Europe United Kingdom

Justice secretary says ‘robust community order regime’ would be better alternative.

February 18, 2019

Mexique : cárceles no reintegran

News

Central America and the Caribbean Mexico

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: Spanish

February 18, 2019

Guatemala: en 10 años creció en 300% la prisión preventiva

News

Central America and the Caribbean Guatemala

This article is not available in English.

February 18, 2019

Un avocat égyptien jeté en prison pour un gilet jaune

News

Africa Middle East Egypt

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

February 18, 2019

La Belgique dispose de 20 ans pour rénover les cellules de ses prisons

News

Europe Belgium

This article is not available in English. This article is available in the following versions: French

February 15, 2019

USA: it costs about 50 times more to make a call from an Illinois jail Than from an Illinois state prison

News

United States

This article is not available in English.

February 15, 2019

USA: Why more prison closures may be coming to New York

News

Facilities United States

Citing a decline in crime, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday proposed closing up to three state prisons by Sept. 1.

February 13, 2019

UK: at Birmingham prison, government takeover from G4S extended for another six months

News

Europe United Kingdom

Birmingham Prison is to remain in government hands for a further six months due to the “fragile” state of the jail, the government has said. The Prison Service stepped in to operate HMP Birmingham last August after an inspection uncovered soaring violence, drug use and appalling living conditions.…

February 13, 2019

USA: from life in prison to published author

News

United States

Drug deals and gun violence were everyday realities for Chris Wilson growing up. Straddling homes in D.C.’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood and Prince George’s County’s Temple Hills community, Wilson watched his mother fall victim to both domestic abuse and drug abuse. Many of his friends were locked…

February 13, 2019

New Zealand: how sport in prison could help stop reoffending

News

Oceania New Zealand

A sports programme which is being piloted in New Zealand prisons aims for a reduction in reoffending. Not only does physical activity help prisoners with their wellbeing and mental health, but it could help them into employment, according to UK Professor of Criminological Psychology Rosie Meek. “Sp…

February 12, 2019

USA: Alabama will build 3 prisons for men, Ivey announces

News

Facilities United States

Gov. Kay Ivey announced today that her administration will seek bids for building three regional prisons for men to replace aging, cramped facilities that the Alabama Department of Corrections has said are too costly to maintain and repair. The governor said new prisons are a necessary part of a la…

February 12, 2019

USA: emergency declared at Kansas prison because of staffing shortage - 95 jobs unfilled

News

United States

Kansas prisons have been under-staffed for years. Inmate populations are overcapacity. Uprisings in recent years have caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Now, the state’s corrections agency is declaring an emergency at one of its largest prisons – El Dorado Correctional – because of…

February 12, 2019

Haiti: all inmates escape from Aquin

News

Central America and the Caribbean Haiti

All 78 inmates of a prison in southern Haiti have escaped from captivity, according to the country’s police. The detainees reportedly made their escape from Aquin prison while police were distracted by anti-government protests nearby Haiti’s national police force said it has launched an investigati…