Information, topic by topic, on prisons across the world

July 8, 2020

UK: lockdown report reveals HMP Maidstone inmates confined to cell for 23 hours a day with higher number of self-harm incidents

News

Coronavirus Europe Mental health United Kingdom

An inspection of a Kent prison during lockdown has revealed inmates have been confined to their cells for 23 hours a day and had no face-to-face contact with the outside world for at least 12 weeks. The report has also highlighted a “self-inflicted death” at HMP Maidstone since the restrictions cam…

July 6, 2020

Dura crítica del Defensor del Pueblo a la crueldad en las cárceles españolas

News

Europe Minors Mental health Spain

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

June 24, 2020

France: la prison altère le fonctionnement du cerveau

News

Europe Mental health France

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

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 4, 2020

USA: solitary confinement is fueling New York's prison suicide crisis

News

North America Mental health Suicide United States

On average, someone attempts suicide in one of New York State’s prisons every other day. And 43 percent of those suicide attempts occur in the state’s notorious solitary confinement units — the Special Housing Unit, or SHUs. Solitary confinement is also linked to higher rates of death by suicide, a…

June 4, 2020

South America: las mujeres tienen mayor riesgo de suicidio en las cárceles

News

South America Women Mental health

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

May 19, 2020

Honduras: cut off by coronavirus, Hondurans in packed prison suffer mental toll

News

Coronavirus Central America and the Caribbean Mental health Honduras

LA ESPERANZA, Honduras (Reuters) - For Yerbin Estrada, the worst part of the day is when the sun begins to set. The hundreds of inmates of La Esperanza prison in central Honduras must leave its small courtyard and file back to their cramped cells. “That is when the hell really begins,” said the pow…

April 9, 2020

France: en 2019, ils sont morts en prison

News

Coronavirus Europe Health Mental health Suicide France

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

March 12, 2020

Women in prison: a "tough place"

Interview

Women Europe Health Mental health

Women and girls make up 7% of the global prison population, in various proportions. While they represent 3% in African countries, it goes up to 8 % in the Americas, and 6 % in Europe. The highest proportions are found in Hong Kong-China (21%), Laos (18%) or Qatar (15%).

March 5, 2020

USA: el confinamiento en solitario prolongado en las cárceles equivale a tortura psicológica

News

North America Discipline Health Mental health Torture United States

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

January 1, 2020

Coronavirus: Prison Fever / 2021

News Thematic paper

Africa Coronavirus North America Central America and the Caribbean South America Asia Elderly prisoners Europe Middle East Oceania Health Mental health Material conditions Activities Social ties

The virus has not stopped at prison gates. What measures are taken to guarantee the safety of all prisoners and prison staff? What are the consequences of the pandemic on the living conditions in prisons? Here is an overview. — Update 31/12/2021

November 19, 2019

USA: Artist JR teamed up with current and former inmates to create a mural at a supermax prison outside LA

News

North America Mental health United States

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

November 17, 2019

France: délinquants "psychiatriques": leur place est-elle en prison?

News

Europe Mental health France

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

November 13, 2019

UK: security firm to monitor prisoner vulnerability at Kilmarnock Prison in bid to prevent suicide and self harm

News

Europe Mental health Suicide United Kingdom

Changes in behaviour are highlighted to prison officers – allowing them to intervene before a prisoner self-harms or attempts suicide.

November 12, 2019

Turkey: radicalisation en prison, l'ONU en quête de solutions

News

Europe Discipline Justice Mental health Rehabilitation Turkey

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

November 1, 2019

UK: mental health act: calls to end "horrific" detention of young people with autism

News

Europe Health Mental health United Kingdom

“It has been left to the media and desperate, anguished parents to expose the brutal reality of our system of detention of people with learning disabilities or autism.“

September 24, 2019

France: prisons and mental health

Interview

Europe Health Mental health France

People with mental illness are over represented in the prison population. This group is particularly vulnerable and subjected to violence and abuse. Prison psychiatry is a sector that has undergone significant changes lately, in France and elsewhere. Where do we stand right now? In July 2014, Adeli…

September 18, 2019

Spain: alertan del elevado número de casos de enfermedad mental en las cárceles

News

Europe Mental health Spain

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

September 5, 2019

UK: with parents in prison, kids at risk for lasting psychiatric problems

News

Europe Mental health United Kingdom

Children who have a parent in prison may be more than twice as likely as other kids to have depression, attention problems and conduct disorders by the time they reach adolescence, a U.S. study suggests.

August 25, 2019

Russia: 'Black Hole', prosecutors probing allegations of punitive psychiatric treatment in Siberian prison

News

Asia Europe Mental health Russia

Igor Sovchuk, a prisoner at prison IK-6 in the city of Tyumen, Siberia, complained repeatedly of a headache. After being told repeatedly to shut up, the guards finally agreed to take him to the medical unit. He was given an injection and sent back to his cell.

August 19, 2019

Japan: surveillance and old age

Interview

Asia Long-term prisoners Mental health Japan

Akaike Kazumasa is a criminologist and specialises in the Japanese prison system. Rate of imprisonment, working as a prisoner, prisoners’ age: Prison Insider asks him three questions to understand the particularities of the country’s penitentiary system.

August 12, 2019

Spain: Sevilla, una de las cárceles con más presos con trastornos mentales graves

News

Europe Mental health Spain

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

August 5, 2019

Poland: groundbreaking lawsuit targets violations at controversial psychiatric facility

News

Europe Mental health Poland

A client of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) has filed a lawsuit against the State Treasury, seeking damages for multiple violations at the National Centre for the Prevention of Dissocial Behaviours.

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.