Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

March 26, 2020

Australia: women released from prison are at much greater risk of violence

News

Women Oceania Violence Australia

Violence against women is rarely out of the news in Australia. We are now ten years into the National Action Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women (2010-2022), but there is still a long way to go. Our research shows this is particularly true for women who have been to prison. The considerable chall…

March 9, 2020

Australia: WA's overcrowded prison system is a 'ticking time bomb'

News

Oceania Overcrowding Australia

A former inmate describes conditions inside the prison system as a “ticking time bomb”, with staff and prisoners under increasing stress

February 27, 2020

Australia: do people in prison matter less in an emergency than those who are free?

News

Oceania Australia

There is one image from the bushfire crisis that I am still not able to shake. It has led to night terrors where I wake in a sweat, feeling embers on my face and a desperate need to walk outside and look at the sky.

January 2, 2020

Australiia : Christmas in prison: How female inmates cope and support each other a "sad and lonely" time

News

Women Oceania Australia

December 25th can be a chaotic mix of cheer and stress, but above all, it is a time of year dedicated to family. While most celebrate with their loved ones, for those in prison, Christmas is a complicated matter. “It has a bit more of an impact on the women,” said Superintendent Julie Steineuer fro…

September 25, 2019

Australia: atados y amordazados, la realidad de los menores en las cárceles

News

Oceania Australia

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

September 5, 2019

Australia: a third of the prison population has Hepatitis C, ice inquiry hears

News

Oceania Australia

NSW prison inmates who had been previously cured of Hepatitis C were being reinfected up to three times, the ice inquiry has heard.

August 17, 2019

Australia: where do you go when you leave jail?

News

Oceania Australia

Picture this: You’ve just walked out of jail in a country town. You’re given one change of clothes, about $275 and two nights at a motel. What would you do?

August 6, 2019

Australia: mums in prison or whose babies are in care need breastfeeding support too

News

Oceania Australia

Australian women want to breastfeed but many struggle. And the most disadvantaged face the biggest challenges.

July 29, 2019

Australia: juvenile prison guards strip searches cause mental health problems, former inmates claim

News

Oceania Health Mental health Australia

Children as young as 10 years old are being routinely strip searched in juvenile detention in NSW with minimal or no contraband found, according to new data.

July 5, 2019

Australia: Queensland government accepts prison overhaul after scathing report

News

Oceania Australia

The Queensland government has agreed to support 33 recommendations from a scathing report that found the state’s prison system was rife with overcrowding and corruption.

July 1, 2019

Australia: the biggest and most expensive jail sparks concerns in Grafton

News

Oceania Australia

Australia’s biggest and most expensive jail is being built near the New South Wales north coast town of Grafton, and locals are increasingly worried about the impact it will have on their region.

June 20, 2019

Australia: Sydney PC assembler using prison labour

News

Oceania Australia

An unidentified PC assembly company is using inmates at a Sydney prison to build some of its products.

June 20, 2019

Australia: "I just need it to end"

Testimonial

Oceania Australia

Ralph is a British citizen detained in a prison farm, in Kernet. He has been incarcerated for more than six years and is about to be released. He tells Prison Insider how a regular day goes by in prison.

June 17, 2019

Australia: Aboriginal man dies in custody days after jail was told he was suicidal

News

Oceania Suicide Australia

An Aboriginal man has died in a Western Australian prison just days after his mother reportedly called the jail to warn that he was suicidal.

June 13, 2019

Australia: Canberra's prison applied dress standards to visitors which could breach the Discrimination Act

News

Oceania Social ties Australia

The ACT Human Rights Commission is seeking clarification about the dress standards imposed on visitors at Canberra’s jail which included a ban on swimsuits, tight-fitting clothing and skirts shorter than mid-thigh.

May 16, 2019

Australia: babies and toddlers are living with their mums in prison, we need to look after them better

News

Oceania Australia

Women are going to prison at a higher rate than ever in Australia. Our tough sentencing policies sent women to prison at twice the rate of England and Wales in 2018.

December 31, 2018

Australia: call for air-conditioners in 'inhumane' cells after outback heatwave triggers prison riot

News

Oceania Material conditions Australia

Prisoners forced to live in cells during a scorching Red Centre heatwave should be allowed access to air-conditioning as a human right, a Territory union leader says.

December 20, 2018

Australia: why are our prisons full of domestic violence victims?

News

Oceania Violence Australia

The number of women in prison is continuing to soar, new data shows. But advocates warn we can’t arrest the increase until we start properly addressing domestic abuse, which affects an overwhelming majority of women behind bars.

December 15, 2018

Australia: Marie Triller, la prison de Fremantle

News

Oceania Australia

This article is not available in English. If you wish, you can consult the French version.

December 14, 2018

Australia: Queensland prison guards giving inmates drugs and weapons, damning report finds

News

Oceania Drugs Australia

Watchdog says systems meant to detect and deal with corruption are not working. A damning new report shows corruption is alive and well in Queensland’s prison system, with guards hooking up with inmates and supplying them with booze, drugs and even weapons.

November 5, 2018

Australia: Inside one of most productive prisons and the program turning inmates' lives around

News

Oceania Australia

Walking into the Cadell low-security prison north-east of Adelaide, visitors instantly notice the atmosphere is unlike the usual grim portrayal of life in custody. Instead, there is a great sense of hope.

October 16, 2018

Australia: Canberra prison close to capacity

News

Oceania Overcrowding Australia

Canberra prison is bursting at the seams, as a spike in male inmates stretches the jail’s population to record levels. A total of 507 prisoners were locked up at Alexander Maconochie Centre on June 19 and 25 this year, four inmates shy of capacity. The jail had an average daily population of 474 de…

September 17, 2018

Australia: plea from 35 groups for action on Indigenous Australians in prison

News

Oceania Australia

A coalition of more than 35 human rights, justice and community organisations have written to the Australian government pleading for action on the rising numbers of Indigenous people in prisons.

September 6, 2018

Australia: female prisoner dies in Brisbane prison

News

Women Oceania Australia

A 51-year-old female prisoner died at Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre in the early hours of Thursday morning.