Europe
Europe
Minors
Health
Mental health
Activities
Rehabilitation
United Kingdom
Teenagers in Feltham Young Offender Institution (YOI) were locked in their cells for as long as 22 hours a day, according to a report.
Crises
Europe
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Ireland
The prison, which has a capacity of 296, had 372 people in custody yesterday, representing 126% capacity. It has broken its own overcrowding record, with 76 person in custody currently sleeping on mattresses on the floor due to a lack of bed space.
Crises
Europe
Mental health
Drugs
Overcrowding
Alternatives
United Kingdom
A record 58 people died in Scottish prisons in 2024. The total exceeded the previous record of 53 deaths, set in 2022, and sparked a debate over the causes.
Europe
Justice
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Violence
United Kingdom
Complaints to the ombudsman in the year ending March 2024 - a period during which the Tories freed thousands of incarcerated people early to avoid running out of space—hit 4,575, the highest number since before the pandemic.
Women
Europe
Foreign prisoners
Justice
Health
Drugs
Material conditions
Suicide
Violence
Malta
Alex Dalli’s prison degraded incarcerated people and subjected them to pervasive intimidation and fear, with one person describing the place as a ‘factory of evil’, a new Ombudsman investigation has found.
Crises
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Mental health
Material conditions
United Kingdom
New data claims that imprisoned people and staff at Channings Wood Prison near Newton Abbot are being failed by a prison system in crisis.
Europe
Activities
Social ties
Alternatives
Work
United Kingdom
Home detention would replace prison for some people if proposals from the Bar Council are accepted by the ongoing sentencing review being led by former Conservative justice secretary David Gauke.
Europe
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Social ties
Work
United Kingdom
I was one of a group of Just Stop Oil activists given the longest-ever UK sentences for peaceful protest after blocking a motorway. Six months into my incarceration, this is what I have learned.
Pre-trial detention
Women
Europe
Foreign prisoners
Access to legal rights
Suicide
Luxembourg
There are 260 people, including 11 women, currently in pre-trial detention in Luxembourg, a number that “represents 46% of the total prison population,” the ministry told Contacto.
Ireland: women in largest female prison were accompanied by multiple guards to cervical screenings
News
Women
Europe
Health
Mental health
Ireland
Women who underwent cervical screening in Limerick’s female prison had to be accompanied by two to three guards up to last year, leading to a low take up.
Europe
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Violence
Alternatives
Switzerland
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has raised concerns about police practices and prison overcrowding in western Switzerland, citing “repeated allegations of physical mistreatment and excessive use of force” against people in custody.
Women
Europe
Facilities
Overcrowding
United Kingdom
Some prisons were still full even after the Government’s SDS40 early release scheme saw around 3,000 imprisoned people go home before their release dates, according to Ministry of Justice data.
Culture
Europe
Justice
Health
Mental health
Material conditions
Overcrowding
Activities
Social ties
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
In Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Iceland, life in prison resembles the outside world as much as possible. However, like any prison system, they aren’t perfect. Nordic prisons are facing some of the same challenges as prisons in the UK.
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Justice
Torture
United Kingdom
An incarcerated person who brought a legal challenge in April 2023 alleging he had been held in solitary confinement in England for more than two years has said he remains in isolation 20 months later because the judge has not given her decision in the case.
Without a roof or a choice
Analysis
Thematic paper
North America
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
People leaving prison, who are often in precarious situations and stigmatised, are hit hard by the housing crisis. But without a stable habitation, what hope do they have for building a future in society? Four articles explore the problems they face and offer ideas for reflection and solutions.
From a cell to the street
Analysis
North America
Europe
Access to legal rights
Justice
Rehabilitation
(1) Many people become stuck in the revolving door between the streets and prison. Countless incarcerated people agonise over their impending release when they have no habitation solution. All are put in a difficult situation and severely affected by the housing crisis.
Preparing for release
Analysis
North America
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
(2) Release from prison does not occur the day the person walks out the prison door. It requires months of prior preparation. The transition to freedom and accessing habitation are part of a complex journey that includes tasks ranging from obtaining documents to restoring social rights.
The door opens
Analysis
North America
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Alternatives
Rehabilitation
(3) The day of release often arrives unexpectedly. For many prison leavers, it marks the beginning of a period of homelessness with occasional temporary solutions. Although systems exist to provide assistance in finding a place to stay, the spots come at a cost.
Prison under the skin
Analysis
North America
Europe
Long-term prisoners
Access to legal rights
Mental health
Rehabilitation
(4) Time spent in detention has a lasting impact on bodies and minds. It leaves persistent wounds and scars that make it harder to re-enter society and affect how people occupy their space.