Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

October 26, 2021

Malaysia : Single mother with nine children sentenced to death for meth possession

News

Women Asia Drugs Death penalty Malaysia

Incident has ignited fierce debate on women’s rights and capital punishment in Malaysia.

September 10, 2021

Indonésie : l’enfer du feu dans une prison

News

Asia Drugs Material conditions Facilities Indonesia

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

July 15, 2021

Malta: Prime minister has full faith In prison director after inmate’s death

News

Europe Health Mental health Drugs Malta

Prime Minister Robert Abela insists he has full faith in Prison Director Alex Dalli in the wake of yet another death inside the Corradino Correctional Facility.

June 29, 2021

New Zealand: drug treatment in prison environment "very ineffective", counsellor says

News

Oceania Health Drugs New Zealand

Drug treatment in prison is “a waste of money” and the government needs to be investing more into drug courts, an experienced drug and alcohol counsellor says

June 24, 2021

United States: addressing the structural inequalities underlying a failing prison health system

Analysis Opinion

North America Mental health Drugs Material conditions Suicide United States

ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Homer Venters is a physician and epidemiologist working at the intersection of incarceration, health and human rights…

June 17, 2021

Thailand: the overcriminalization of meth, a failed moral crusade

Analysis Opinion

Asia Long-term prisoners Drugs Overcrowding Thailand

ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. Pascal Tanguay discusses the overcriminalization of meth-related crimes in Thailand and its consequences.

June 14, 2021

Life imprisonment: a sentence in dire need of reform

Analysis Opinion

Africa Asia Elderly prisoners Europe Oceania Long-term prisoners Justice Health Mental health Drugs Overcrowding

ICPR and Prison Insider asked several experts worldwide to share their insights in the framework of the project ‘Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in 10 countries’. In this piece, Olivia Rope, Executive Director of Penal Reform International (PRI), discusses life sentences, a key p…

June 2, 2021

Understanding and reducing the use of imprisonment in ten countries

Thematic paper

Africa Crises Pre-trial detention Asia Elderly prisoners Europe Access to legal rights Health Mental health Drugs Material conditions Overcrowding Social ties

An international research and policy project carried out by the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research (ICPR) at Birkbeck, University of London

May 3, 2021

Nigeria: tension in Kano prison as death row inmates protest confiscation of mobile phones, marijuana

News

Africa Drugs Protest Death penalty Violence Social ties Niger

Some death row prisoners at Kurmawa Prison in Kano have staged protests over confiscation mobile phones, marijuana and other prohibited items smuggled to them by visitors.

April 1, 2021

Brazil / USA: female mass incarceration

Analysis

North America South America Women Long-term prisoners Drugs Brazil

Brazil and the United States are amongst the countries that incarcerate the highest numbers of women. What policies and practices do these countries have in common?

March 1, 2021

Ecuador: prison riots leave 79 dead, including 34 in Cuenca. Gang wars result in beheadings, dismemberments

News

South America Drugs Protest Violence Ecuador

“This is a human slaughterhouse,” is how a national police captain described the scene as he entered a high security area of Cuenca’s Turi prison following tuesday’s riot. “It is the most terrible thing I have ever witnessed as a police officer.”

February 18, 2021

Ireland: €3.7m spent on medicine for prison inmates over the last two years

News

Europe Health Drugs Ireland

More than €3.7m has been spent by the Irish Prison Service on medications for inmates over the past two years. The bill at a single prison can be in excess of €50,000 a month, according to the data, with costs highest at the Midlands Prison in Co Laois. The Irish Prison Service said many of those s…

February 12, 2021

Salvador: inside a prison cell for gay former gang members

News

Culture Central America and the Caribbean LGBTQI Drugs Violence Religion El Salvador

“It was completely unheard of“. “Because in the gangs, if there’s even the suspicion that you’re gay, you pay for it with your life.”

February 2, 2021

Luxembourg : vers l'élimination des drogues en prison

News

Europe Drugs Luxembourg

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

February 2, 2021

Guyana: government tables bill to remove prison time for small amounts of cannabis

News

South America Justice Drugs Guyana

The narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances bill 2021, which removes the penalty of jail for anyone convicted of having 15 grams or less of cannabis, was tabled in the National Assembly on thursday.

November 5, 2020

France : faim, manque d’hygiène et chantage, le calvaire des pauvres en prison

News

Coronavirus Women Europe Health Drugs Material conditions Social ties France

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

October 5, 2020

Argentina: por qué son cada vez más las mujeres presas por vender drogas

News

South America Women Justice Drugs Argentina

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

September 29, 2020

France: supervising, not banning, alcohol consumption

Interview

Coronavirus Europe Health Drugs France

“Alcohol is a legal substance, so why is its consumption permitted in society but banned in prison?” The ban on alcoholic substances even extends to hand sanitizer, despite the ongoing pandemic.

September 7, 2020

Brazil: drugs, walls and being a woman

Interview

Women Access to legal rights Drugs Brazil

Ranked as the world’s third-highest prison population, its number of imprisoned women is rising increasingly.

July 29, 2020

Australia: Hepatitis C outbreak ignites debate on needle exchange in Queensland correctional centres

News

Oceania Health Drugs Australia

Pressure is mounting on the Queensland Government to implement Needle and Syringe Programs (NSPs) in the state’s correctional centres amid an outbreak of hepatitis C at a Far North Queensland prison.

June 23, 2020

UK: "A day in the life of a Prison Nurse"

News

Europe Health Mental health Drugs United Kingdom

Nurse Katie Haddon talks readers through a day in the life of a Prison Nurse.

June 17, 2020

Uruguay: 8 de cada 10 presas consumen drogas según una encuesta relevada en 17 cárceles

News

South America Drugs Uruguay

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

June 11, 2020

Cambodia: reforms to tackle prison overcrowding ‘must go further and put human rights at the core of drug policy’

News

Asia Drugs Overcrowding Cambodia

At the beginning of the year, Cambodia’s largest prison facility exceeded 9,500 prisoners – which is 463% over its maximum capacity of 2,050 Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch want reforms to be deepened and made permanent, through the review and amendment of the Law on Drug Control ‘Camb…

May 20, 2020

Spain: el coronavirus acaba con las muertes por sobredosis en las cárceles

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Drugs Spain

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