Overcrowding
Africa
Crises
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Violence
Congo - Kinshasa
In attempting to describe Makala Prison - the scene of a deadly and failed breakout this week in the Democratic Republic of Congo - two people who have been inside used the exact same word: “hell”.“Makala is not a prison, but a detention centre resembling a concentration camp, where people are sent…
Europe
Justice
Overcrowding
United Kingdom
Five of the former most senior judges have intervened in the debate over the prison population crisis to urge the government to reverse the trend of locking people up for longer – declaring that ‘radical solutions’ are required to tackle the prison population crisis.
Africa
Crises
Pre-trial detention
Access to legal rights
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Violence
Congo - Kinshasa
Families of those killed in what authorities called an attempted jailbreak in Congo’s biggest prison are demanding answers from the government as activists denounce what they say are inhumane conditions in the nation’s overcrowded penitentiaries.
North America
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Violence
United States
This latest death follows one earlier this week at the same facility, Los Angeles’s Men’s Central Jail. The proximity of these tragedies underscores the urgency for Los Angeles County to honor the commitment it made in 2021 to close the dangerous facility and stop the cycle of death plaguing its ja…
Europe
Minors
Mental health
Drugs
Protest
Overcrowding
Violence
Rehabilitation
United Kingdom
Prisons across the country are in a deep state of crisis – the extent of which is exposed by the latest statistics. Soaring rates of violence, self-harm and drug misuse have become widespread in overcrowded prisons in England and Wales. The prison population remains “within a few hundred places of…
France: Olympic Games under control
Interview
Middle East
Health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Violence
Egypt
Six detainees have died in one week at a detention centre in the al-Sharqia governorate in Egypt, the Egyptian Network for Human Rights (ENHR) has reported. Egyptian rights group says detainees suffered from “suffocation” due to overcrowding and poor ventilation.
Europe
Material conditions
Suicide
Overcrowding
Italy
“This is a high figure compared to the same month of July in 2023 and 2022, when 34 were recorded (with an increase of 16 deaths)” read the guarantor’s report. “There are 48 men and 2 women, 27 are Italian and 23 foreigners, from 14 different countries. Of the people who took their own lives, 19 (3…
Europe
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Ireland
The Inspector of Prisons has said the record levels of overcrowding in jails is “deplorable” and that he has been “sounding the alarm” of the crisis since he took up the position in August 2022.Mark Kelly also expressed grave concern at the “undesirable uptick in physical violence” the worsening ov…
Europe
Justice
Overcrowding
United Kingdom
Prisons will run out of space within days, putting the public at risk and endangering prisoners and staff, the Prison Governors’ Association (PGA) has warned in a letter to the leaders of all UK political parties. The PGA, which represents 95 per cent of prison governors, says that shortly even pol…
Europe
Justice
Overcrowding
United Kingdom
MSPs have voted in favour of releasing more than 500 prisoners early to address overcrowding in Scottish jails.
Europe
Material conditions
Facilities
Overcrowding
United Kingdom
Scottish prisons are in crisis and risk breaching inmates’ human rights, according to a new official report. Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee has called on the government to carry out an urgent review of the prison system. It follows recent warnings from within the service about overcrowding and a…
Prisons on the margins of European elections
Analysis
Investigations
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
Overcrowding
Alternatives
The citizens of the 27 member States of the European Union will go to the polls from 6 to 9 June. What role do prison issues play in the electoral campaigns?
North America
Justice
Facilities
Overcrowding
United States
All over the country, architecture firms make the case for bigger jails — then get hired to design them.
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
Health
Protest
Overcrowding
Social ties
Turkey
The “2022-2023 Prison Rights Violations Report” highlights systemic human rights abuses in Turkish prisons, revealing a disturbing trend of political repression and isolation practices, particularly concerning the treatment of political prisoners, including Abdullah Öcalan.
Asia
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Violence
Nepal
Prisoners, especially those in judicial custody, face frequent attacks from older inmates.
Europe
Overcrowding
United Kingdom
Scotland’s prison population has reached its highest since 2020.
Enough is enough
Analysis
Inside Outside
Africa
North America
South America
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Overcrowding
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. Fourth piece: overcrowding.