Europe
Mutineers, rebels and objectors
Analysis
Inside Outside
Africa
North America
South America
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Protest
Prison Insider, represented by Clara Grisot, contributed twelve compositions to the book InsideOutside to articulate, in a few words, the current challenges of prison life. Eighth piece: rebellion.
Europe
Overcrowding
Social ties
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
Belgium
The state of prisons - notably overcrowding, poor staff working conditions and inadequate access to support for imprisoned people - are not conducive to rehabilitation, according to a new report by the Brussels Federation of Institutions for Inmates and Former Prisoners (Fidex).
Europe
Material conditions
Social ties
United Kingdom
HM Inspectorate of Prisons has identified the issue as one of those which frustrate incarcerated people’s efforts to resolve everyday issues such as requests for extra toilet rolls for a cell, making an appointment to speak to staff in another department and applying for courses or prison jobs.
Europe
Mental health
Suicide
Overcrowding
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
Italy
There have been 24 suicides in Italy’s prisons so far this year after three imprisoned people took their own lives in jails in Avellino, Genoa and Trieste, penitentiary police union SPP said. The union said that, at this rate, last year’s record of 91 prison suicides will be broken in 2025.
Europe
Access to legal rights
Drugs
United Kingdom
A former imprisoned person who died of drug poisining a day after being released should have been given a drug overdose kit, an investigation has found.
Europe
Suicide
Overcrowding
Violence
Activities
United Kingdom
Overcrowding is a trigger for poor performances in prisons, says a research document produced by the Institute for Government. It calls for increased education and training for imprisoned people, and the introduction of a minimum standard of provision.
Women
Europe
Material conditions
Social ties
Rehabilitation
United Kingdom
The Lilias Centre, in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, is part of a multimillion-pound experiment to tackle reoffending through rehabilitation. They give incarcerated women greater freedoms than traditional prisons and prepare them for life in the community after their sentence.
Women
Europe
Justice
Mental health
Suicide
United Kingdom
A new HM Inspectorate of Prisons report on HMP Styal found that 39 women had been sent to the prison due to their “acute vulnerabilities and the absence of specialised support in the community.”
Crises
Europe
Material conditions
Facilities
Overcrowding
Ireland
Prison overcrowding is at another crisis point with all secure jails having reached, or exceeded, capacity for the first time. The number of incarcerated male in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, has this week grown to 1,000 for the first time.
Europe
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Alternatives
Ireland
The deprivation of a person’s liberty alone is a core punitive sanction that has a long-lasting and often traumatic impact on an individual – the conditions and treatment experienced by individuals in prison should not be used as an additional punishment.
Women
Europe
Minors
Health
Mental health
Alternatives
United Kingdom
Pregnant women should not be sent to jail unless it is “unavoidable”, according to new sentencing guidelines. The guidance, published by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, has been hailed by campaigners as a huge milestone.
United Kingdom: report critical of prison's 'limited' support for neurodiverse incarcerated people
News
Europe
Mental health
Rehabilitation
United Kingdom
An inspection of Jersey’s only prison has led to concerns being raised about a lack of support for neurodiverse incarcerated people. The report found that while 23 people had been identified as neurodivergent, few had care plans in place, and staff awareness of how to support them was “weak”.
Women
Europe
Health
United Kingdom
The Ministry of Justice is investigating claims by two incarcerated female that they were handcuffed to male officers during labour, antenatal appointments, and intimate vaginal examinations. The alleged incidents occurred between 2021 and 2023 at HMP Bronzefield in west London.
Pre-trial detention
Europe
Material conditions
Suicide
Overcrowding
Italy
Italy’s chronically packed prisons had a population of 62,132 imprisoned people in February compared to the 46.910 places available, with an average overcrowding rate of 132.4%, according to data released by the guarantors of the rights of persons deprived of their personal freedom.
Europe
Mental health
Drugs
Material conditions
Suicide
Overcrowding
Rehabilitation
Malta
Malta’s prison boss does not agree with solitary confinement and would abolish it altogether if he had the power to change the law. Christopher Siegersma said that no imprisoned people are serving time in solitary confinement as he does not believe it is effective.
Women bearing the weight of the law
Analysis
Africa
North America
Central America and the Caribbean
South America
Women
Asia
Europe
LGBTQI
Oceania
Access to legal rights
Justice
Drugs
Death penalty
Violence
More and more women across the world are being imprisoned, mostly for minor, non-violent offences. What discriminatory and punitive logic is being applied? What is being done to fight back against it?
Women
Europe
Facilities
Overcrowding
Ireland
The women’s wing of Limerick Prison is currently operating at twice its capacity. That’s according to the Irish Prison Service’s latest figures, which show that the women’s wing is housing 91 incarcerated people, despite having a maximum capacity of just 56 beds.
Türkiye: broken spirits
Testimonial
Language in the French reintegration programme
Testimonial
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
United Kingdom
I would like to share the plight of the protesters that are being sent to prison. I am currently on remand for an alleged action as part of the group Palestine Action, which takes action against arms companies that make millions from the death and destruction of innocent people’s lives in Palestine…
Women
Europe
Health
Mental health
Alternatives
United Kingdom
Figures obtained through freedom of information (FoI) requests to NHS trusts providing healthcare to women’s prisons in England found 12% of women receiving care relating to pregnancy in 2023 were diagnosed with the condition, triple the national figure of 4%.