Minors

March 26, 2020

USA: as pandemic threatens to devastate prison population, new report provides updated “big picture” view of incarceration

News

Coronavirus North America Minors Foreign prisoners Health United States

As advocates urge prisons and jails to slow the spread of COVID-19 by releasing as many incarcerated people as possible, it’s more important than ever to understand how many people are locked up across the country, where, and why. The Prison Policy Initiative’s new edition of Mass Incarceration: The…

Source — Prison Policy

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March 11, 2020

UK: MoJ challenged to release details of child restraint in prisons

News

Minors Europe United Kingdom

A children’s rights charity is challenging the refusal of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to release information showing the reasons why children in prison have suffered pain-inducing restraint, the Guardian has learned.

Source — The Guardian

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March 11, 2020

Chile: our children are going to prison'

News

South America Minors Chile

More than 180 children in Chile have been held in preventive detention – some for up to four months – for their participation in the wave of social unrest which have rocked the country since October.

Source — The Guardian

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February 26, 2020

Bolivia: resolución prohíbe el ingreso de niños a cárceles que no tengan espacios seguros

News

South America Minors Bolivia

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

February 25, 2020

France: prison pour mineurs de Meyzieu: un établissement "en surchauffe"?

News

Minors Europe Overcrowding France

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

February 12, 2020

Changing the prison system: the role of information

Interview

Africa Minors Health Overcrowding

It can be difficult to collect data on prisons. Few people have direct access to it. Carole Berrih explains the necessity of access to quality information. Read more

February 10, 2020

France: femmes détenues et inégalités dans la population carcérale

News

North America Women Minors Europe Health France

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

February 7, 2020

UK: Oakhill STC sees 27 staff investigated over abuse and neglect in last three years

News

Minors Europe Violence United Kingdom

Police have investigated 27 members of staff at a single secure training centre (STC) in relation to allegations of abuse or neglect of young people held there in the past three years, it has emerged.

Source — Children and young people now

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January 6, 2020

France: un ado dans la spirale de l’enfermement

News

Minors Europe France

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

January 2, 2020

USA: youth confinement

News

North America Minors Discipline United States

On any given day, over 48,000 youth in the United States are confined in facilities away from home as a result of juvenile justice or criminal justice involvement. Most are held in restrictive, correctional-style facilities, and thousands are held without even having had a trial.

Source — Prison Policy Initiative

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January 2, 2020

Jamaica: judges still tossing children "behind bars" for uncontrollable behaviour, years after efforts started to end practice

News

Central America and the Caribbean Minors Jamaica

Human rights advocacy group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) has raised concerns that the practice has re-emerged and provided The Sunday Gleaner with statistics which suggest that in 2018, some 413 children (211 males and 203 girls) appeared before court, not for committing an offence but for exhibiting…

Source — The Cleaner

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December 20, 2019

Pāri mūriem

Portfolio

Minors Europe Activities Religion Latvia

Behind the walls of the juvenile detention centre of Cēsis, the prisoners are getting bored. Jérémie Jung leads photography workshops with 10 of them but is confronted with censorship by the prison administration. Read more

December 18, 2019

France: mineurs non accompagnés en prison, les victimes d’un système

News

Minors Europe France

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

December 18, 2019

Turkey: prison population increases by 14 percent in one year

News

Minors Europe Middle East Justice Turkey

According to the “Prison Statistics 2018” of the TurkStat, prison population of Turkey has increased by 14 percent in one year. As of December 31, 2018, there were 264 thousand 842 people behind bars, the Institute has informed.

Source — Bianet

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July 22, 2019

Philippines: 'Worse than prison': Abuses in Philippine youth homes

News

Asia Minors Drugs Violence Philippines

Officially called “Houses of Hope”, proponents in the Philippines say such facilities are places for reformation and education, but critics slam many of them as “hellholes” where children are treated like caged animals.

Source — Le Point

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July 10, 2017

The Dungeon

Portfolio

Africa Pre-trial detention Minors Material conditions Burundi

Children languishing in dark cells. They are victims of alleged arbitrary justice, and they spend years without seeing the inside of a courtroom. Read more

June 13, 2017

Captured childhood

Portfolio

Africa Pre-trial detention Minors Madagascar

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

May 18, 2017

Zambia's 'substandard prisons violate human rights'

News

Pre-trial detention Minors Overcrowding Zambia

Chairman of Human Rights Commission says Zambian prisons do not meet international human rights standards

Source — AA

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May 11, 2017

Australia: children held in Barwon prison were deprived of their human rights, court finds

News

Minors Oceania Mental health Australia

Children detained in an adult prison in Victoria were deprived of their human rights and faced risks to their mental health, a supreme court judge has found.

Source — The Guardian

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April 25, 2017

Breaking the circle

Portfolio

Minors Rehabilitation Sierra Leone

Minors released from prison have no access to reentry programs. Some go back to the streets and try to survive; others receive support from various organisations. Read more

April 20, 2017

Waiting for justice

Portfolio

Africa Pre-trial detention Minors Justice Overcrowding Sierra Leone

Children are incarcerated illegally in the maximum security prison of Pademba, in Sierra Leone. Fernando Moleres shares with us the daily lives of the minors in the Prison of Freetown. Read more

December 8, 2016

UK : Our prison restraint techniques can kill children.

News

Minors Europe Discipline Torture United Kingdom

Tuesday the Ministry of Justice had been told that the restraint techniques it had approved for use on children in custody could kill them. A risk assessment carried out by an independent medical adviser concluded that 28 of the 66 sanctioned restraints had a 40% to 60% chance of resulting in injuries…

Source — The Guardian

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November 20, 2016

Children in prison - not a minor problem.

Prison Insider's editorials

Minors Activities

At least one million children are in prison around the world, according to UNICEF. The conditions of their detention are, for the most part, deplorable. Read more

October 18, 2016

Rakoto and the dragon

Insights

Africa Culture Minors Madagascar

Minors incarcerated at Diego Suarez (Madagascar) collaborated with Judith Lesur to produce a short film. “Rakoto and the dragon” was warmly received by the prisoners, the association, prison staff and the wider public. Read more